Behind the Looks
by Vivalandra
Summary: :: Loosely based on "Beastly" & "Penelope" :: Danny was the rudest teenage boy in school, but one curse from a "witch" changes everything. Now he has a year to fall in love with someone, or the curse will last forever. :: Danny Phantom (c) Butch Hartman ::
1. Prologue

**A/N: Okay. So while the story me and Maria are doing is waiting it's way out, I'm going to write a new story. It's kinda a mixture between Beastly and Penelope. So, I hope that you enjoy it.**

**Behind The Looks**

**Prologue **

He was judgmental. He was rude. He was like most boys, or in this case, the crude ones. He would judge someone by their looks, and not how they were on the inside. He would deny the kindness and purity, of the 'ugly' people in his high school.

Danny Fenton. He was the boy. The one who never gave anyone any slack. He would see someone who didn't look beautiful in _his _eyes and BAM! Just like that, one insult would drip from his mouth, his tongue craving each word like bees with pollen in flowers.

Not a lot of people liked him, but because of how he was, basically, the A-listers did. Them being the jocks, the cheerleaders. And the preps, of course.

Dash and Kwan were the main jocks, Star and Paulina were the cheerleaders and preps. They were attracted to his rudeness, they were attracted to how he acted. He was the light, and they were the moths and mosquitoes flying around it.

As they had walked down the high school hallway one Spring day in Amity Park, Danny had seen a girl with pale white skin, red hair, freckles all over her face, and light blue eyes. Basically, a Ginger, and Danny hated them the most.

"Hey." he went up to her. She turned to face him.

"Have you ever heard of Foundation? Or cover-up? You might want to try, because you look like you fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down." he continued as the A-lister's behind him laughed and slapped him high fives. The Ginger teared up, walking away as one single tear dared to fall from her eye. But Danny did not care. He never cared about anyone's emotions, just what he saw, and apparently, what he saw, was pure disgrace.

But he saw anything but that to this one girl.

The girl was a Goth, but she was struck with beauty. He didn't know her name, and he didn't know anything about her, but he wanted her. He wanted her oh so bad. And he'd thought that one day, he'd have her any other way.

She was in almost every class with him, and he would stare at her every time. He loved the way her hair fell over her shoulders. Her amethyst eyes that he would try to take a glimpse of every time he had the opportunity to. He also loved the way she would silently sing her songs as she doodled on her notebook, how she would bat her eyelashes every time she drew something funny and then chuckle under her breath. God, how he loved that chuckle. He loved her smile. Her perfectly straight, white teeth that were as white as snow. And her pale skin made her look like a ghost, no, not like a ghost, like an angel, but with no halo or white gown. Just pure beauty.

He never talked to her. He just passed her by, like he didn't know her, and she didn't him.

But there was that need to. To talk to her. To kiss her. To feel her…

But then he stop right there. He wouldn't dare to go any farther, for bad thoughts lead to bad actions.

But then the day to get what he wanted, was going to be a time rather soon.

But until then, he pass a lot of other girls, and maybe bulldoze their hearts on the way….

**A/N: And I'll stop there. But this is the Prologue. It's supposed to be short like that. The next chapter will be much longer of course.**

**Anyway, I tried to make this as specific and creative then my other stories so I wish I sound smart and sophisticated. If I did, please tell me so in reviews. **

**Besides, reviews, to me, or like cookies, and cookies are a Christmas present for some ADHD people, which is me. : )**

**So please, give me some cookies! : p**

**PleaseR&R,**

**SinisterSircusQueen : )**


	2. Samantha Manson

**A/N: Okay, so I already got 5 virtual cookies, and I'm happy that I did. :D. But yes, I am aware of some grammar and word problems in my prologue, so now I'm going to carefully write this. I don't want perfect, I just want great.**

**Okay, so here we go.**

**Behind The Looks**

**Chapter 1: Samantha Manson**

The time came at the high school's Halloween Dance. It was a time that kids could dress up in their best costumes, but yet keep up with their social quality, at the same time. Danny would of course be a part of this, because he knew that their would be 'fresh meat' there for him to pick on.

How rude he was made other people sick. He was a pest in their house. Like a cockroach, only he could only survive _with _his head.

And any girl around that school wouldn't date him for 3 million dollars, but the preps would. In fact, they knew it, but Danny was dating Paulina and Star at the same time. So he was not only rude by looks, he was rude by dishonor, adultery. And he makes it seem like the motto 'There's good in everyone' was just a myth.

But at the party, there was a whole bunch of things to do. Like throwing darts at pumpkin shaped balloons, knocking Frankenstein's head down with throwing balls, and shooting at a hole (like the ones you see at an amusement park or carnival where that orange circle says 'aim here', and you have to shoot at it with water) which caused plastic bats to reach the top.

Danny and the A-listers had went together, but they had separated as soon as they got there. Danny wandered around, looking at some of the students playing games or chatting with each other.

He had then bumped into a girl with deep green eyes, red hair, and she was dressed like she was dark and mysterious.

"Watch it, freak!" he yelled at her. She had walked away as she gave him a dirty look.

He walked on.

As he did, many people had crowed around him, and he began to feel slightly dizzy, so he stepped out for just a second and sat on an empty chair on the side.

He put his head in his hands and closed his eyes, the action stopping all motion and slowly calmed the brain.

"You okay?" he heard a girl ask him.

"Yeah, I'm fi-."

He looked up and saw the girl he liked. The Goth girl.

"Are you sure? You seem a little out of place."

"Yeah I'm fine. Thanks for the concern."

She smiled. "Your welcome. I'm Sam by the way, Sam Manson." she held out her hand.

"Danny Fenton." he took it in greeting.

"It's nice to meet you, Danny."

"You too, Sam."

She chuckled and sat down next to him. "So what's your reason for coming here?"

"Uh, I don't know. Enjoying what's left of this crappy school."

She lightly laughed. "Oh. Me, my reason is because I have to help run this thing. I sell the beverages and snacks. I'm just taking a break. That, and I thought you needed some help too, from the looks of it."

He smirked. "Well, now that you know that I'm not hospital worthy, you need not worry anymore."

"Yeah." she agreed with him.

They were silent for a minute. "Well, I'd better get back to the cart. It was nice to meet you and I hope you feel better."

"Thanks. It was nice meeting you too."

They smiled at each other and she walked away.

_Sam Manson_, he thought.

The next day, after the Fundraiser, he was lacking attention in Mr. Lancer's class. Though this isn't the first he didn't pay attention to the out of shape teacher, but he didn't pay attention this time for the reason to look at Sam the whole time. She would look over and smile at him once in a while, continuing to doodle in her notebook, and there were times when he would get anxious and lean over to see what it was.

She was drawing a spiritual picture. A woman was leaving her body, and Sam knelt down by it, crying. A look of concern flashed on his face.

"What do you see in that picture?" he whispered to her.

She was startled by the sudden words and quickly shut her notebook.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what causes you to draw that picture?"

She sighed and glanced at Mr. Lancer to make sure he wasn't paying any attention to them, then looked back.

"The woman that left her body," she paused for a second. "Was my mother."

He joined his eyebrows. He had felt terrible for snooping into her private thoughts.

"Oh. I'm so sorry. I- I didn't know."

"No. That's, it's okay. It's not your fault on how she died."

He cleared his throat and sighed. "I, I don't mean to be rude, but, how did she die?"

She bit her lip and whimpered a little. "She was shot. 2 to the heart, 1 to the brain."

He had looked down as she continued to explain. "I was the first to find her. In an ally way, walking home from Piano Lessons."

"Jesus. I'm so sorry."

"It's fine. You didn't do anything. I mean, you still owe me for my generosity last night, and I think your giving me some in return."

"Well yes, I do owe you, and I at least _believe_ I'm giving you some in return."

She smiled. "You are. Just for being concerned."

"I really love how you draw. Your so creative."

"Really?" she asked. "Thank you. I was never admired for my work."

"Doesn't, whoever you live with, ever look at it?"

"You mean my dad? I never showed it to him. He doesn't really like creativity."

"Well he has no self-esteem."

She laughed. "He doesn't have anything."

"Does he have a face? You know, like everyone else."

"Ha ha. Very funny."

He smiled and looked down. "Your more special than I thought you were."

"Your more," she lightly shook her head. "Nice. Then I thought you were."

He leaned over. "What do you mean by that, fellow Goth girl?"

She leaned over too. "I mean, I know your reputation around school. Your one of the worst bullies."

"Oh yeah. I judge people by their looks."

"You haven't judged me.""I actually _like_ you."

She smirked. "Well I actually get to the likes of you too."

"Acceptable."

They turned back to their seats. "We'll pick this up later." She said.

"Yeah, maybe we will."

She flashed him a quick beam before turning her attention to her notebook again. And Danny got back to thinking about her.

**A/N: And done. Remember, ADHD, cookies, you know the drill.**

**Next chapter, the curse will be released.**

**PleaseR&R,**

**SinisterSircusQueen : )**


	3. To Fall In Love

**A/N: Alright, here we go! The spell will be casted in this chapter!**

**Behind The Looks**

**Chapter 2: To Fall In Love**

After class in the hallways, Danny and Sam continued to talk to each other. A few jokes here and there, they smiled, they gave each other their phone numbers, and shortly afterward, they said there goodbyes and walked to their own homes. As Danny walked along, happy that he had finally got the chance to talk to the girl he loved.

He was happy, that is, until he saw someone up ahead that he had recognized. It was the red-head who was dressed in dark features at the Halloween Party.

It turns out, that wasn't her costume, it was just her.

"Now what do you want? My day's turned out good so far, don't ruin it. And why are you dressed like that? You look like the ugly version of Marilyn Manson."

She smiled. "You just won't learn your lesson, will you?"

"Will I? Will I what? Stop making fun of other students? Please lady, I do that for a living so why should I stop now."

She evilly smiled and stepped forward. "I knew you wouldn't learn you lesson. I thought it was only going to be a matter of time. But I guess I was wrong."

She grabbed his hand and looked at front side of his forearm.

"And now I'm going to do something that you will regret."

Her hand glowed and then a tree had developed on Danny's arm. And shortly afterward, it's veins had reached all throughout his body. His face was covered in it, along with thin red blood veins.

"What the-!" Danny looked at himself. "What did you do?"

"As soon as the flowers bloom on the tree, which will be a year from now, you will stay like this forever. That is, if someone falls in love with you between then."

"Are you kidding me? Do you honestly think someone will fall in love with me looking like this?"

"Someone will, if they care about you. But in order to turn back to normal, a woman has fall in love with you, and say the words, 'I love you' to break the curse. If you need me, my name is Zonda. I'll be seeing you soon. Remember, you've got a year." With that, Zonda disappeared in black smoke.

Danny looked at himself, shocked. He had to let the words sink in. He couldn't believe what had just happened. But before anyone saw him, he ran home and locked the door, locked himself away from the outside world.

"Danny?" a woman said, knocking on Danny's door. He knew who it was, his mother, but he still wasn't going to let her in. He didn't want anyone seeing him like this.

"Danny honey, open this door. I haven't seen you in a while."

When she finally managed to open it herself, she realized the light was off. She went to turn it on, but Danny stopped her.

"Leave it off." he said sternly.

"Leave it off?" she repeated confused.

"Yeah. Please."

"Then, how will I see your pretty face?"

"Trust me mom, my face is anything but pretty, and I can guarantee it when I say that."

"Aww. Did someone give you a black eye at school? Because if so, you shouldn't be ashamed of that. In fact, beat them back for all I care."

"Mom, it's not that."

"Then what is it?"

He sighed and stood up from his bed. "Mom, do you believe in magic?"

"Magic? Well, I believe in ghosts. I don't see why magic would be ridiculous."

"Okay. So mom, here's what happened. I've been saying really hurtful things people, and this girl named Zonda heard about it. When I was walking home from school today, she grabbed my hand and put this little spell on me. And she told me I had a year for someone to fall in love with me and say 'I love you' to me, or I was going to be stuck looking like this."

"Like what?"

He flicked on the light next to her. "Like this."

She gasped. "Danny, your. Your face-"

"Is repulsing? I know."

He sighed and stepped away from the light switch, sitting back on his bed.

She followed and sat next to him. "Danny, you never know. There could be girl there, at your school, who's love with you."

"I know this one girl. Sam. That's her name. I don't know if she loves me, but I think that I love her.""Oh, well Danny you never know. She could love you back."

"Yeah, well now I'll never get the chance to find out. I look like this. Even if I do love her, she won't love me back."

"Nonsense Danny. She should love you for you, not because of how you look."

"Well maybe she's not that kind of person."

"She should be."

"I still think I shouldn't go to school."

She sighed. "Well, if you really don't want to, I suppose you could stay here."

She kissed him on the forehead. "Just know that I love you either way. Dinner will be ready soon." Then, she stepped out of the room and back to the kitchen.

Danny fell back on the bed. _How am I gonna survive this for a year? In fact, how am I gonna survive this forever?_

He sighed and put his ski mask on, going downstairs.

The next day, Danny decided to sleep in. He didn't want to wake up and have to face his sister and his dad. Although, he wasn't all afraid, considering the fact that his mom would probably have told them both about it.

But still, he was too depressed to go anywhere or do anything. He just wanted to sleep. Because in his dreams, he felt he could escape his looks.

He didn't realize he had slept until 2:55, and then his cell phone rang.

He reached to get it and flipped it open.

"Hello?" he said.

"Hey. It's Sam."

"Sam! Hey!"

She laughed. "Hi. So, are you okay? Why weren't you at school today?"

"Uh. I'm sick."

"Oh. With what?""Swine flu. It's very bad." He made realistic coughing noises.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. My grandma made her Chicken Noodle soup. Do you want me to bring you some over. It will help you feel better."

"No! I mean yes! I mean, yeah you can but my mom will have to get it for me."

She giggled a little. "Okay. I'll be over at your house. What's your address?"

"426 Hartman street. It's the tall house that has a 'Fenton Works' sign on the top."

"Okay. I'll be there soon. Bye."

"Bye."

He hung up and set the phone next to him. _If I didn't look like this, I would kiss her._

He sighed and stared out the window.

_Why do I have such bad luck?_

The question remained in his head.

**A/N: Okay. I have chores I have to do so I'll stop right there.**

**PleaseR&R,**

**SinisterSircusQueen : )**


	4. A Good Friend In Need

**A/N: Sorry about this dudes and dudettes that read this story, but I stopped updating this for a rrrrrreaaaaaallllllllyyyy long time. But not that I'm done with Bad Girlfriend, I can continue this. Also, I'm going to be working on 2 stories at a time, so I don't have so much to work for this. I'm going to work on this and the story 'In His Memory' which if you haven't checked out, you should. It's gonna be sad. Think of Armageddon, you ever seen it? It's a sad movie.**

**Anyway, let's continue on with**

**Behind The Looks**

***Plops down with all the cookies I have so far***

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 3: A Good Friend In Need**

Danny had stayed locked away in his room, with his blinds rolled down. And meanwhile, Sam had really worried about not seeing him at school. She got so nervous, she decided to skip her piano lessons and go straight to Danny's house to check on him. She walked up to the front door and knocked. Then, Maddie opened it.

"Oh hi sweetie. Who are you here for?"

"Danny."

"Oh, you must be Sam. I'm Maddie Fenton, Danny's mother. Danny's told me a lot about you."

Sam lightly chuckled. "Are they _good _things?"

"Of course. He likes you." Maddie smiled at her. She then stepped aside and let Sam come in.

"Listen though Sam, Danny's not in a good condition to be seen.""Oh I know. He has Swine Flu. Poor boy."

"Yes, Swine Flu, and you know how contagious that is."

"Right. But I brought some more of my grandma's Chicken Noodle Soup. Is it making him feel any better?"

"Actually, yes, it is. You don't hear him cough so much as night. Hang on honey, let me go give it to him."

Maddie took the soup and went up to Danny's room, leaving Sam to wait on the couch.

* * *

><p>Maddie knocked on his door.<p>

"It's your mother." she said through it.

He opened it. "What's up?"

"Here. It's Chicken Noodle Soup."

"You don't know how to make Chicken Noodle Soup."

"It's not mine, it's Sam's Grandmother's."

"What?" he yelled and pulled Maddie in his room, shutting the door behind him and locking it. "What is she doing here?"

"Oh honey, she cares. Give her some slack. I think she likes you."

"Of course she likes me! I like her too!"

"No honey," Maddie shook her head. "I mean, I think she really, _really _likes you."

Danny looked down. "How can you be so sure?"

"Sweetie, I was a kid once. I know what you guys go through. You should let her come up here and at least let her know your okay."

"And how will she talk to me looking like this? Huh? She'll take one look at me, scream, then run away."

"Even if she does, give her a chance. You won't know how she'll react unless you let her come up here."

He looked around and thought in his head. "Alright. Bring her up."

Maddie smiled, nodded, and left the room to go downstairs. That's when Danny quickly got his ski mask on and sat on his bed.

* * *

><p>Maddie made her way down the steps and went to Sam.<p>

"You can go up and talk to him if you like. Just keep your distance."Sam nodded. "Thank you Mrs. Fenton."

"Please honey, call me Maddie."

"Okay." Sam turned and went up to Danny's room.

* * *

><p>When she finally found his door, she knocked.<p>

"Come in!" he yelled past it.

Sam opened the door and came in. "Hey." she smiled at him.

"Hey." he smiled back.

She turned and closed the door behind her. "So…"

She pulled up a chair and sat across for him. "How are you doing? Are you feeling any better?"

"Uh," Danny said. "Yeah you could say that."

She smushed her face in curiosity. "Why do you have a ski mask over your face?"

Danny's eyes widened. He couldn't have thought of why before?

"Uh, because I read online that ski masks were one of the thing that kept germs away from the air."

"Hmm. I wonder how if there's holes cut open for the mouth and the eyes."

"Me either, but it just says so. So I took it's advice. A ski mask was all I had, so I just, grabbed it."

"Okay." she smiled and slowly nodded. "So this is why you haven't been in school lately?"

"Yeah."

"Well, you should be able to get better soon so that you can go back."

_Not unless I find love._

"Right."

"You know, the A-lister's didn't say a thing about you being gone."

"Hmm. They must either be busy, or they just don't care, but either way, I'm glad that you do."

"You think so?" She grinned.

"I would know. They're my emotions."

"Well let's hope that your appreciation will be strong unlike currently your physical body."

"Me? Not strong? Please, I could use you as a barbell."

"First off, I'm only 90 pounds. Second off, the weight you carry on barbells are _dead weight._ It's not some human being."

"Still. And your not shitting me. 90 pounds?"

She slowly shook her head in agreement.

"Whoa. Your pretty fricken light for your age."

"I exercise a lot. And I'm a vegetarian."

"Well… I thought I knew you. I guess I don't."

"Well, there's a few facts. I'm afraid you'll have to figure out more by your self."

"Sure. By the puzzle pieces, then leave me to finish it by myself. You're a good person."

She laughed. "Thank you. Because I'm more like Jigsaw. I leave you the clues, you figure out the method to escape."

"_And _you're a Saw fan? How are we _not_ related?"

"Specific reasons. Your parent's aren't snotty riches."

"Your rich?""Correction. My parent's are rich, not me. They just give me money when I need it."

"Hmm."

"Now your just going to like me for my money, aren't you?"

"No way. I've liked you for you so far, what's going to change that?"

She took a deep breath. "Okay. Well I now that I've exposed a secret, I think it's time that you come out with one."

"Actually, hold me on that. Right now, I feel too much of a wimp to say anything personal."

"Okay. I will hold you to that."

"Do it then.""Fine."

"Fine."

"Good."

"Good."

She stood up. "Well I gotta go. By now, my parent's will have already figured out that I'm not at my lessons and are probably at home waiting to question me."

"Okay."

She stood up and put the chair back into it's original place and made her way to his door.

"And Sam." he stopped her. She turned and waited for him to say what he wanted to say.

"If you see a guy roaming the streets that looks a little bit like a boy in a ski mask, that's my friend."

She chuckled. "I know what you mean. Okay." She then turned and left.

**A/N: I'm gonna stop. Chores, and my fingers are killing me.**

**PleaseR&R,**

**Escaping Mortality : )**


	5. Out And About

**A/N: Okay, I'm back! I'm sorry everyone. I've been REALLY busy. I have Volleyball, 7th**** grade is a big bummer, and I'm signing up for Gymnastics, Tae Kwan Do, AND I'm teaching Sign Language to my friend Caitlyn.**

**Anyway, now that I have time to not only breathe, but update this story, I will do so.**

**Behind The Looks**

**Chapter 4: Out And About**

Danny had decided to sit in his room long enough. He decided that he had to get out of the house. Shutting himself in was not healthy. He needed outside air, he needed to feel free.

So he put his ski mask on and walked around. It felt really good. The feeling of sunlight touching his face. The air whistling in his ears. And the smell of fresh soil and grass filling his nose. It was a weekend, so school wouldn't disturb him. He turned around to look at a dog sniffing around and was slightly startled when he bumped into something hard. Him and the person behind him fell with a thud.

"I'm so sorry." He mumbled as he turned around to help a girl pick up a whole bunch of shattered clay pots, dirt, and flowers.

"It's fine." The female said. When they were (somewhat) done cleaning up the mess, they looked at each other.

"Hey!" They cried to each other. It was Sam he bumped into.

"Your out. How are you feeling?" She asked him.

"I'm great. Never felt better."

"Ahh. I'm glad."

She picked up the broken objects and particles and set them down on a porch step.

"So what are you doing?" He asked her.

"Well, I was going to tend my grandma's garden. She broke her back and she has a really, really green thumb, and she wanted her plants to survive. So I offered to come over and fertilize, water, and feed them. She also wanted me to put in new flowers. But, uh…"

Danny sighed. "Yeah, I really am sorry. I didn't mean it."

"No it's fine," Sam shook her head and smiled. "I can buy new ones. They're not expensive."

"Can I help with the garden? It's the least I can do."

Sam smiled. "Yeah. Of course. If you want to. But I don't want you getting sick again. I miss you at school."

"Nah. I'm alright. I won't get sick."

She shrugged. "Then yes, you can help me."

She opened a wooden gate and entered, ushering Danny to follow.

When they made it to the back, Danny's mouth gapped open.

"Wow."

The garden looked like one of those rich people gardens, with a big fountain and plenty of green grass to cure a stomach ache for dogs. There were concrete angels holding hearts and a baby laying in Mary's arms sitting at the end of the fence.

"Your grandma's garden is beautiful. Like, the best I've ever seen."

"Yeah, and she'd be crushed if all of this died." Sam turned the hoes and made sure the gear was set on shower. She sprinkled water all over the flowers and grass.

"Okay," she paused for a second and told him. "Here's your first job. Ready?"

Danny nodded. "Yeah."

"Okay. I want you to grab the bag of fertilizer, and use this cup to kind of sprinkle it over the grass and flowers. I'm going to polish the statues."

"Polish them?"

"Yeah. Grandma likes an abnormal shine to it."

He shrugged and grabbed the cup and the bag and scooped some soil into it. Then, he gradually shook it over the grass and flowers. Sam used a paint brush, started at the top, and worked her way down, giving the statues a natural glow. By the time they were done, they stood back and admired it.

"It looks good," Sam said. "My grandma will be impressed. Wait right here."

Sam rushed inside and came back out a couple seconds later.

"This money was left on the table for me. It's 40 bucks. She sneaks it to me so that my parents don't catch on with me having money."

She took one of the twenties and handed it to him.

Danny stared. "I can't take that Sam."

"Yes, you can. You helped me, you deserve a reward."

"Sam…" He gave her the 'don't start' stare.

"Danny…" She returned it. "Take it."

He sighed and grabbed the twenty, shoving it in his pocket.

"Thank you." She gave him an innocent smile.

He mocked her as they left the garden.

* * *

><p>Danny and Sam swayed on the swing, looking beyond the horizon.<p>

"It's really beautiful out tonight. You don't see this a lot."

"Yeah, I know."

Danny stared at his feet for a second before he asked.

"Hey, whenever you mention about your family or going home, you always say 'your parent's'. Why? I thought your mom died?"

Sam bit her lip. "My dad remarried. A year after mom died. To woman named Teresa. She used to work as an accountant. But she quit. Because she didn't feel that she needed to make money," She held her arms with her hands, covering her chest. "She's using my dad. For _his _money."

Danny narrowed his eyebrows. "How can you be so sure?"

"I heard her talking on the phone one day. To her friend named Stephanie. She said, 'Marrying that dumb man was the best thing that I've ever done.' I was so hurt. I tried to tell dad, but he told me that I'm just feeling hate against her for taking mom's place, and that sooner or later, I'd grow out of it. He never believed me."

Danny glanced over and took her hand. The sudden action caused her to look through the eye holes and into his eyes.

"I'm sorry." He whispered apologetically.

"Again, it's not your fault. Life's always like that. If I had a photo of my mom, I would show her to you, but Teresa burned them all in the fireplace and told my dad that they 'accidentally' got thrown away. As far as he knows, they're buried somewhere deep in Amity Park's Trash Dump."

Danny scoffed. "What a bitch."

"I know, but I can't escape her."

"Yes you can," He kissed her cheek. "And I can help you."

She stared at him, her eyes tearing up. Danny seemed to notice this.

"I'm so stupid. I'm sorry."

He was getting up to leave but she dragged him back down.

"No. It's okay. I kind of liked it."

They felt themselves blushing and he brushed a piece of her hair back behind her ear and held her face, pulling himself closer. They're lips were inches apart until Sam's watch beeped, indicating that it was time for her to start heading home, and they pulled away. Their blush deepened.

"I-I should start heading home."

"Let me walk you. It's getting dark and it's not safe for you to go alone."

She smiled. "I couldn't agree with you any more."

They stood up and started toward the house.

* * *

><p>After Danny helped Sam return home, he got into his pajamas and finished brushing his teeth. He rinsed, spit, dried his mouth, and stepped out of his bathroom. He felt a sharp pain on his lower arm though, which caused him to stop right next to his bed. He looked down at his arm and seen the cause of it. <em>Oh no.<em>

The flowers were starting to bloom on the tree. If you looked at it, they weren't fully blossomed, but you could see that they were coming, slowly, but they were coming.

_I have to find love, and fast!_

**A/N: I gotta go guys! Sorry! Chores, dogs, ugh!**

**PleaseR&R,**

**Escaping Mortality : )**


	6. A Date?

**A/N: Hello everyone.**

**I've come down to the conclusion of continuing my stories. I was fixated on the fact of quitting (and I was going to officially throw in the towel too), but then I seen all of your guy's reviews and I thought… who the hell cares?! I have people that still care about my stories regardless if they're OCC or not! Besides, writing is a passion that you're born with, and it's one of the things that, once it tags along with you, you cannot just simply "throw it away", it's stuck with you forever. Who the fluck cares?! Let's write and kick some lass! :D**

**However, I will take a small break from "For Better or Worse" and just continue updating this story for a little bit. I've worked on that other story for a decent amount of time now (I published both this one and that one at around the same time), and I rarely nurture this story, so I might just work on this until I'm finished with it. **

**So let's continue and see where this story leads Sam and Danny! Lots of fluff in this chapter, so be prepared. :D**

**Chapter 5: A Date?**

Danny lied on his bed, his top half hanging loosely over the edge, the blood slowly rushing to his peak. He was glancing at the branches that were gradually growing on his arm. The flowers hanged like little tiny tendrils from the branches of the tree. It must have been about six months since Zonda had cast the hex upon him. A half of a year, and he hasn't even been out enough to let alone _meet a girl_ then to have one admit she loves him. Sam was cool and all… no, actually… Sam was the most amazing girl he had ever met; had ever _included _into his life. And she didn't love him, he knew this. He was way too secretive with her. Women don't like it when men are secretive. It's just a thing with them. And Danny sure as heck was being that.

_This is all my fault_, Danny thought. _If I was so rude, so cruel… mean… insulting… I wouldn't be in this predicament. I could be so close to Sam. I want to kiss her… touch her… be as close to her as humidity to your skin in the summer. But I can't even show my own __**face**__ to her, let alone do any of those things. All because I had to be a jackass to not just Zonda, but everyone! When are you going to learn your lesson, Fenton?_

Danny's phone began to vibrate yet again. This must've been the fifth time now.

_It's probably Sam again,_ he thought. _I can't bare talking to her right now. I can't even be honest with her._

Eventually, the vibrating stopped, and Danny felt like even more of a jackass for not talking to her.

_Great. Now Sam's going to get worried and bring herself over here to make sure that I'm alright. Now you're not only treating her like crap, but you're scaring the living crap out of her. Way to go, hotshot._

A knock at the door could be heard and Maddie called to her son.

"Sweetie, are you alright? You've been in there forever."

Danny didn't answer her. In fact, he was lost in thought.

_Maybe I could go patrolling. I haven't seen in a ghost since last week when the Box Ghost decided to haunt a shoe store. Either way though, at least it will clear my head. Flying always makes me relax._

He flipped over and changed formed, peeking through his keyhole. His mom was still standing there waiting for a response.

"Yeah Mom. I'm alright."

"Well… alright. Do you need me to get you something?"

"No Mom. I'm fine."

"Oh, well, okay. I love you."

Danny paused, hearing the sorrow in her voice. "I love you too Mom."

Then, Danny slipped the ski hat over his head and phased through his closed window and glided in the sky. He looked at the city below him. Everything was so peaceful at nighttime. That's really the only thing he liked about patrolling throughout the dark. There wasn't that irritating morning rush-hour traffic or a bunch of birds in his way. He just glided. Nothing in the environment messed with him… well, except for his swoopy, snow-white hair that always wormed his way in his face. He soon got to his standard spot and levitated there. No one was in sight, and at first Danny felt as if he was wasting his time. But then, Danny seen someone dressed in all black work at the keyhole of the door to Amity Park's Jewelry Store. Danny's eyes narrowed and he flew even closer, watching the guy even closer. He got in and shut the door behind him. Surprisingly enough, no alarm rang out. No flashing lights or attracting sirens. That was just it.

Danny rolled his eyes. _Seriously, are you kidding me?_

He phased through the wall and peered around, seeing the guy standing over the glass box, which held the necklaces. He used his hand to bust the glass open and reached down to pick up the necklace when Danny stopped him abruptly.

"You know, I don't think doing that is a good idea."

The man immediately turned around in fright. In his hand, he held a dagger, clearly something that would prove a threat to a _full human._ But clearly, Danny wasn't _full human._

"Please. You honestly think that knife can hurt me?" Danny chuckled.

The man rushed after Danny, knife held high, ready to slash his throat, but Danny ducked and caught his arm and tried to break his grip from the weapon. The man wasn't easily tricked and his gripped tightened on the weapon and he pulled even closer to Danny's throat. Danny tugged at his arms, making sure that the blade wasn't touching his esophagus, and raised his arm, elbowing the man in the face. He stumbled back and Danny kicked the blade out of his hand and across the room. As the man regained his composure, still holding his nose, he'd seen that the blade was no longer in his hand. Danny smirked and crossed his arms. The man looked across the room, realizing that it was now there. Right before he darted toward it, Danny used his ecto-ray to blast even farther away. The man glanced at him in shock.

"That's right. I'm Danny Phantom. I guess you haven't heard of me."

Danny drew himself closer to the man's face and leaned in real close.

"I'm the protector around these parts."

The man quickly dove for the knife and cut Danny's left leg. Danny yelled in pain, watching as ecto-plasm oozed from his cut. He quickly snagged the man's wrist and broke it, hurling the weapon away from him again. Then, Danny grabbed him by the collar and held him up.

"Listen man…" he groaned and hissed as he felt his wound throbbing. "I gotta ask… do you have a family?"

"Y-yeah. I got a daughter, man."

"What's her name?"

"Wendy… her name's Wendy."

"And what would Wendy think had she seen what you're doing here?"

"She… she'd be scared of me."

"Exactly. I know that you don't want to do this. You're not a bad guy, man. So I'm going to give you a second chance not to mess up your life completely. Walk out of the door with what you came through it with (without the knife) and go home to Wendy. Take care of her. And don't mess up your life… or so help me God… I _will_ come for you."

The man nodded in fear and Danny set him back down on the ground. He slowly walked to the door and as he looked back at Danny, he continued on, opening the door and exiting the store. Once he was out of sight, Danny fell on the floor, clutching his wound. From the looks of it, it seemed deep.

_I gotta tend to this and fast._

Danny slowly rose to his feet yet again and picked up the knife, leaving the store. He flew into the air and looked around.

_I don't want to go home. That will just frighten Mom. But the hospital cannot know about me. That will completely give me away. They can't know my secret. Wait a minute…_

Danny thought far to the back of his head.

_Sam said something about knowing first-aid a few months back. I could fly to her house and turn human. That way, it'll just look like I got into a knife fight with someone and then she won't suspect that much…but then that makes me obligated to go to the hospital… well, perhaps not. I am closer to Sam's house, so I mind as well go there._

Once he made it there, he landed and peered through the windows. In one of them, he'd seen a woman with brown hair and light make-up on, talking on the phone. In the background, he saw a man with blonde hair.

_That must be Sam's dad and stepmother. _

Danny limped over to the side of the house and seen nothing but dark. He hesitated.

_Is she asleep? I sure hope not._

He looked around and found a few pebbles on the ground by the house. He picked a few of them up and tossed one of them at one of the windows. He waited a few seconds, but nothing happened.

_Hmm. Must be the wrong one. I'll check the back of the house._

Danny then limped to the back of the house, the pebbles still in his hands, and tossed four of them at the four different windows on that side. The one on the upper left showed a light turn on inside and Danny let the pebbles drop to the floor. A hand moved the curtain aside and Sam's face was seen peeking out. Once her eyes met his, hers widened. She opened her window and stuck her head out.

"Danny? What are you doing here?"

"Can I come up? It's really important."

"Um," she looked behind her. "I don't know how you're going to get up here."

"There's a vine growing right underneath your window. Maybe I can use that to climb."

"Okay, just… be careful. You don't know how weak it is."

Danny walked up to it and examined it.

"No. It looks strong enough to hold my weight."

Danny struggled at first to get both of his feet on one of the vines since the wound was only getting worse, but once he was about 75% up to the top, Sam held out her hand to help him through. He gladly took it and they worked together to pull him in. Once he reached he was inside, he collapsed to the floor, and Sam shut the window behind him.

She seen the wound on his leg and quickly rushed to his side.

"Oh my God," she mumbled and looked over him. "What happened? Who did this to you?"

"Ah, you know… us men… we like getting into knife fights and what not…"

"Knife fight?!" Sam gasped. "Are you out of your damn mind?! You'll be killed!"

"Hey, you don't have to worry about me, alright? I can take pretty good care of myself."

"Then why are you here?" She crossed her arms.

"Touché," he smirked. "You know first-aid, right?"

"Yeah. My grandmother used to teach me, why?"

"I need you to… fix me."

"Fix you? You aren't an object."

"Well… I meant… tend to my wound."

"I thought the _man_ was supposed to look out for the _woman._"

"Another touché for you. Well done."

Sam rolled her eyes and went to her closet, opening the door and rummaging through a small pile of clothing inside. She then pulled out a small white box marked "first-aid" at the top and rushed over to Danny. She opened it and then observed Danny once again.

"This is going to sound very, very uncomfortable, but I need you to undress for me."

"W-What?"

"You heard me."

"Uh… are…are you sure?"

"I need easier access to that wound, and articles of clothing must be removed in order to cause that."

Danny sighed and shrugged. Sam helped him up and sat him down on her bed. Sam looked at his upper torso even closely and as her gaze went farther back, she noticed another gash on his side, right near his appendix.

"God Danny, they really did a number on you."

"What?" Danny said confused and looked back, noticing his wound. "Oh… now that I didn't even notice was there."

Sam rolled her eyes and helped him take his shirt off. She set it to the side and breathed slowly as she seen his abs. His biceps were moderately large, but not huge. He was well built. Whatever he did for exercise really did a lot for him. Sam shook her head and cleared her throat. As she reached for the rubbing alcohol, disinfectants and the sewing needle, Danny put on his cocky smile.

"Am I a turn-on for you?"

Sam shook slightly, gaining shyness.

"Oh come on. It's okay. It's just the hormones acting up."

She completely hid her face from him as she rummaged through the materials in the kit.

"Sam, don't hide from me. It's okay."

She cleared her throat again and pulled out the alcohol, pouring some of it on a cotton ball. She turned toward him and dabbed it on his side cut. She could see him tense up and the veins in his arms pop out slightly. He clenched his fists and hissed. Once Sam blew on it, he felt a little better. Sam grabbed the disinfectant ointment and applied it to the cut, rubbing it in before bandaging it.

"That's one."

She breathed. "You do realize what you have to remove next, don't you?"

He nodded and began to unfasten his belt. Sam stood and started toward her bedroom door, opening it to a crack and peering out. Her parent's door was shut and the light was off, meaning they were probably asleep. She sighed and shut the door again.

"My parents are –." she started as she turned back toward him. His legs were even incredibly sexy. Seriously, what did he do for a work-out?

Sam's heart began to race a million miles a minute. Why on earth did he have to be so hot?

"Flattered?" he asked.

Sam's blush began to deepen to a dangerously colored pink and she covered her face with her hands.

"Sam, it's okay." She heard him slightly chuckle.

"I'm glad that you're so comfortable with this."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because… well… this is the closest I've ever seen a guy… you know… naked."

"You don't have to be scared."

"I'm not. I'm just… I don't even know what I'm saying."

Sam wiped her eyes. "I just have to be professional about this."

Sam started back over toward the kit and applied another drop of rubbing alcohol to a new cotton ball and looked for the wound on his leg. Once she found it, she dabbed the alcohol against it and the same process as before repeated. Danny hissed and groaned and acted like a baby while Sam proceeded with her work. Once she was done, she soothed it with the ointment and bandaged it.

"There. Done."

Danny slipped his shirt back on and Sam moved off to the side, gazing out the window.

Once Danny finished dressing, he went up to Sam from behind and read her body actions. She was slouched over, her shoulders hunched and her head hanging low. She was staring out at the sky.

"You're thinking about your mom, aren't you?"

Sam breathed heavily. "She and I rarely ever got along… but I'd give anything… _anything_… to have her back. She would be much better than Teresa."

Danny wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned in.

"I'm sorry. I don't even understand anything you're going through."

"You don't have to. I don't even know what I'm going through. I know nothing about her and half the time I don't even act like it. I'm upset but calm, shy but outgoing. I'm tired of having mixed moods; I want to feel _one_ emotion, not five thousand of them."

Danny rested his chin in the crow of her neck.

"You know… this is an uncomfortable thing to share… but, did you know that my _father_ had to tell me about what periods were?"

"What?" Danny smirked.

"He tried to be a mister-mom… but a man isn't a woman, you know?"

"Yeah…"

They sat in silence for a while. Danny enjoyed every minute of it. He loved everything about Sam. Her personality, her appearance, her scent, her features… he loved everything about her. When she complained, he loved to hear her out. He couldn't always give her the right advice, but he'd proved himself a good listener. He wished that at that very moment, he could take Sam to a world where all of her worries would disappear. He wished that he could just carry her in his arms and fly off to a place where dreams would come true, and not nightmares. No violence, no hate… just happiness. He wished that he could destroy every burden in her mind… but even he wasn't clueless enough to not know, there are just some things in this world that you can't change about someone; their past is one of them.

Sam turned around and hugged him gently when she felt as if she'd almost cry. She was glad that Danny was her comfort. Her dad was okay too, but most of the time, he'd spent his life with Teresa and rarely ever paid attention to his daughter anymore. She used to hate her father's attention, and ironically enough, she now wanted it more than anything in this process of grief. Danny kissed her neck and hugged her tighter. Sam looked at him.

"When are you going to take off that stupid mask?" she asked him.

_Not for a long time._ "I don't know."

"How about… now?"

Sam hastily reached to take it off, but with witty reflexes, Danny caught her wrist. He pulled her in to kiss her lips, trying to take her mind far away from the topic. But even still, even when Danny had her pushed up against the wall, even then… she still tried to work at it little by little.

"Sam," Danny mumbled into her lips. "What are you doing?"

"Taking it off."

"No," he pinned her arms up above her head. "I don't want you to see me."

"Why not? Danny, I… I…"

Danny looked at her, waiting for her to finish her sentence.

"I love you too, Sam. I just can't let you see me. It's a lot better if you don't, trust me."

"Danny, you have to trust me. I like how you are."

"You have to trust me, Sam. What's underneath this mask is not something you want to see nor do you want to see it walking next to you down the sidewalk."

"I like you how you are, damn it!"

"Then just trust me! Please."

Sam broke from his grasp and walked to her door.

"Sam, wait."

She turned back toward him and stood still. He leaned in and kissed her once more. She decided to once again attempt to reach the mask. For only a few more seconds would she allow Danny to lose himself even more in her kiss then she would quickly snag the mask off of her face without hesitation. And right when she had the opportunity to she snatched it right off, but only in that split-second, he quickly flicked the light-switch off.

"Danny, come on!"

"No Sam. Absolutely not."

"Well, I just wanted to know – ow!" They yelled in unison as she bumped her forehead against his in the darkness. Sam giggled and shushed him. She felt for the light-switch next to her, but found that Danny's hand was still cupped firmly over it. She used it to guide her to where his arm was and bent down, gently biting it. He pulled back and Sam quickly turned the light on. Once she looked back at Danny, she backed up even farther against the wall. There, in front of her, she saw the new Danny, the repulsing Danny, the one in which was in charge of finding a way out of the hex that was cast upon him.

This was not the Danny she knew.

"D-Danny?"

"I told you, Sam," Danny shook his head. "I didn't want you to see me like this. I was afraid you'd be scared. I didn't want to frighten you… I love you."

Sam opened her mouth then closed it, a sign that she was speechless. She held out her hand and slowly paced toward him, feeling his face.

"What are you doing? Why are you -?"

"Shh," Sam placed a finger to his lips and stared at his face.

Danny slightly sulked, feeling insecure of the actions of his… well… girlfriend.

"You aren't going to run away from me? Don't you find me ugly?"

Sam gave him a lob-sided smile and held one side of his face in her hand.

"I've seen more hideous things. Deep down inside, you're still my Danny, and that's all that matters."

Danny smiled and Sam slowly leaned in, kissing him. They grew more passionate with each other at each second that passed by. Danny slowly pushed her along toward her bed and continued to kiss her, working at her jaw-line, then down toward the tender flesh of her neck, her _favorite_ place to be kissed.

"I take it you're spending the night," Sam groaned.

"Only if I'm not caught staying here," Danny responded.

**A/N: Here we go! I hope you guys liked it!**

**Question of the Chapter!**

"_What did you do, or what are you planning on doing, to prank someone on April Fool's Day?"_

**I'm probably going to put a bug in my brother's bed. :P**

**Anyway, tell me what down below, and remember:**

**PleaseR&R,**

**~ Vivalandra**


	7. More Secrets

**/ (My dog wrote this. :P) A/N: So here we go, continuing another portion of "Behind the Looks". I hope you guys will enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6: More Secrets<strong>

Waking up in the morning next to the girl that you love is an incredible feeling. It's one that is only experienced by those who are willing to experience it. For Danny, he felt rejoiced. Not only that it was happening to him in the first place, but that he no longer had to hide his face from Sam. Most of his secrets have been revealed to her. All except for the one about his ghost half, but maybe he'd tell her today, after she wakes.

For right now, he leaned up and stared at Sam, watching her sleep. It seemed kind of creepy to him at first, but then he remembered that he could officially call her his girlfriend now, so who the hell cares? His fingers trailed over her pale, delicate, soft skin and the movement allowed her to stir a little bit.

"Sammy," he cooed. "Wakey, wakey."

She yawned slightly. "What?"

Her eyes looked deep into his. She smiled, remembering the events of what happened last night. She loved Danny with all of her heart, but she was afraid to say those three words. She had never said them to anyone since she had lost both her grandmother and her mother. She's afraid to love because every time she works up the courage to love, the person she loves dies. She wanted to tell Danny that, but she was afraid that Danny would think she was ridiculous. She wished that she could read his mind. Then she would know everything about him. But things just don't work that way.

"Hey," she grinned.

"Hi," he replied and kissed her. / **(My dog. xD He said "hi" in dog code.)**

"We, uh," she blushed. "Didn't _do_ anything last night, did we?"

"What?" Danny asked then shook his head, getting the memo. "No, no. Of course not. Sam, I'd never disrespect you like that."

"I know," she said. "God, how did I meet a guy like you?"

"That one's easy. At a Halloween thing for school. I didn't feel good and you comforted me."

"Oh yeah. That's right."

They kissed again and Danny worked his way lower, all the way down until he reached her shoulder. Though Sam was enjoying the blissful love, her mind reached to other heights, like the date. She wondered... what was the date?

"What day is it?" Sam asked.

"Uh… Sunday, I think."

"Good. For a second or two, I thought that it was Monday, and that we'd have to go to school. I was going to start crying."

"Why?" he looked at her with concern.

"I don't want to go to school. It's just a distraction from the real world."

"Isn't that what you want?" his hand resting on her shoulder.

"Not really," she shook her head.

"Why not?"

"Because then I know that I'll come back… eventually."

"Back where?"

Sam sighed. "Back to my real life… and I just want to be taken away from it… for good."

"Well, maybe you can be."

Sam looked at him puzzled as he crawled out from under the blanket and stood before her. "There's something else that I haven't told you."

She sat herself up in an upright position and watched him closely. "Like what?"

Danny took a deep breath and changed form, his raven hair turning black, blue eyes turning green, and outfit turning into his black and white jumpsuit. Sam looked at him in shock.

"W-… What the hell…?"

"I'm half ghost. It was an… accident… that happened when I was younger. My parents are ghost hunters. They had built this portal that was supposed to connect this world to the world beyond, in which only ghosts dwell. But they couldn't get it to work and they gave up on it, but that didn't stop my curiosity. I put on a jumpsuit (I took off my dad's face template too), then I walked in and seen the 'On/Off' switch. I turned it on while I was still inside and..." he held up his hands. "This is what happened."

Sam stood up to him and he held his hand out. She looked at him hazardously.

"I won't hurt you," he assured her.

She blinked and slowly took his hand. Once he felt her touch, he turned intangible and looked at her.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

"It feels… weird… but I'm okay."

"Don't worry. It's just your body adjusting to it. It's the adrenaline."

He turned tangible and changed back to his original form. He took her face in his hands and looked into her eyes.

"We can go anywhere you want to. Maybe not too far away, but if you want to be taken away from your life… then so be it. I'll go with you."

"That's impossible," she said. "we can't just go wherever we want to. What are we going to do for money? Where will we live?"

"I'll figure money out, but we can live wherever."

"We can't run away."

"We _can_ Sam. You're just afraid to because you're scared of stepping out of your home because you know it's the only place that you can be truly safe."

Sam looked down at her feet, realizing that he was telling the truth.

"But that isn't true Sam. I _will_ keep you safe… at all costs."

"I have a feeling…" Sam said, "that it doesn't entirely have something to do with safety or hospitality. What about our families? Won't they miss us? Won't they wonder where we've gone?"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean they have to know."

He held his hands around hers.

"You and me can go anywhere… you pick."/*/

In the corner of his eye, he'd seen something move upon his arm. Then, he felt a sharp pain on it and he gripped it urgently. Sam looked at him worriedly.

"Danny?"

"I'm alright. I'll be right back."

Danny changed his form and phased through her wall, flying down to her backyard and changing back, walking off to the side, out of Sam's view. He fell to his knees and revealed his arm. The flowers were growing stems.

_Crap, crap! Crap!_

"Zonda," he whispered. "Where are you?"

"Right behind you," she said.

He turned and seen the witch-like girl, crossing her arms, a smirk on her face.

"Well, well. Long time no see. It's hard to believe that six months previous I had put the hex on you. How are you doing so far?"

"Zonda… please. I'm _begging_ you. Please… take this curse away!"

"I can't do that," Zonda said. "There is no _cure_ for this curse except for the cursed one to learn the lesson they are to be taught from it."

"Why not?! Don't you understand that this is going to ruin _everything_ for me?! If you take this curse away, I promise you… I _swear_… I will never insult another person for as long as I live!"

Zonda walked up to him, placing her hands on his shoulders.

"She loves you, you know."

"Sam? I know she does… she just doesn't say so."

"Get her to admit it… and then the curse may set you free."

Zonda backed away and disappeared in a black smoke. Danny stood and looked around. It was broad daylight. A lawn mower was running in the background and the birds were chirping. The bees buzzed about and the insects flew around him. He decided to back and check up on Sam. He went ghost and floated up.

_I flew out on her rather quickly. She must be wanting to know what was so important that I had to leave her._

But when he flew back through her wall and changed back, he found that she was nowhere in sight.

"Sam?" he quietly called for her. That's when he noticed the shower running in the bathroom that was an annex to her bedroom. He smiled and went and knocked on the door.

"Sammy," he called.

"What?" she asked.

He was ready to open the door, but Sam yelped and reached her hand out, closing it.

"No!"

"I was actually going to walk in," Danny laughed. "I was only opening it a little bit more so you could hear me better."

"Sorry," she called. "I'm really, uh… self-confident… about my body."

"Why? I think you're stunning."

By the silence as his answer, he figured what he said flattered her.

"You probably want to see me naked…"

"Me? I'm not like those kind of guys Sam. I'm not willing to push a girl to do anything that they don't want to. That's just not how I am."

"Yeah, well… we all have secrets."

"Not me."

"Really?"

"Okay, not _anymore._ That was my last secret, I swear it."

"Well, even I have secrets."

Danny smirked and leaned against the door hinge. "Oh, I want to hear this."

"Well," she started. "you know you're friend… Dash?"

"Yeah. He's one of the A-Listers. Why?"

"He tried to stop me on my way out of school Friday."

Danny frowned. "What did he do?"

"Well… he…"

Danny didn't like what he was hearing. Dash was messing with his girlfriend while he was out of school? For his sake, he better not have.

Danny's eyes flashed dangerously green. "What did he do to you?"

"He tried to… you know… touch me… but I got away from him. He didn't do anything drastic."

"He didn't do anything drastic?! What do you mean?! That is drastic!" Danny exploded.

"Shh! Keep it down! My parents are still here!"

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. "but you should've told me earlier."

"I knew you were going to act like this if I did. That's why I didn't."

The shower shut off and the curtain opened. Danny turned his face away and walked away from the door, sitting on her bed.

_I swear to God, Dash is going to get his ass kicked when I get back to school. No one puts their hands on my girlfriend._

Sam soon stepped out dressed in a pair of purple shorts and a black tank-top. For once, she had no eyeliner on, and her wet hair fell down her back. Although she kept her back turned toward Danny, he could still see her face through the reflection in the mirror. He thought that she was absolutely beautiful. Sam searched through her make-up bag and pulled out samples of eyeliner, mascara, foundation and a touch-up.

"Why are you putting make-up on?" Danny asked her.

"It's a thing I do," she shrugged.

"No, it's not. It's because of your low self-confidence, isn't it?"

Sam stopped and turned around, glaring at him slightly. "Excuse me?"

"Sam, you're gorgeous. Do you think I'm lying when I say that?"

"No… I just don't believe it."

Just as she turned to open up the sample of eyeliner, Danny walked up behind her and took it out of her hand and tossed on the bed behind them. Sam forcefully pushed him back slightly.

"What are you doing?!"

"Getting rid of the things that do nothing to you but paint your face."

"Give it back," she commanded. She tried to step beside him, but he blocked her way. "Danny, enough. Stop."

"No."

"Danny!"

"No."

He grabbed the other articles of cosmetics and tossed them back too. Sam breathed an aggravated breath as she stared at her boyfriend.

"Why?"

He held her face. "You don't need them."

She attempted to move past him again, but her attempt failed when her foot tripped over his, and she nearly fell. Danny quickly caught her and stood her straight up again.

"Thanks," she mumbled. Danny gave her a nod. "Danny… are you sure that I don't need make-up?"

"Sam," Danny tried to cheer her up. "Have you seen me?"

Sam nodded. "Yes, and you're absolutely handsome."

"Don't lie. You want to vomit. I'm surprised you haven't already."

"No I don't. You're still quite attractive to me."

Her hands felt her way up to his chest and rested there.

"You know," Danny started, "you never quite said that you loved me; why not?"

"I'm afraid to," Sam said.

"Are you afraid of me?"

"No."

"What are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid of you being taken away from me."

"What do you mean?"

"Every time I get really close to someone… they get taken away from me. My grandma, my mom… I can't lose you… so I can't say those three words. I feel like it's a curse."

"You have no idea," he mumbled.

"I do. Danny… I can't."

"You aren't going to lose me Sam, okay? I'm not going anywhere."

"_Because_ I didn't say those words."

"_Because_ you never will."

"You have no idea how bad I want you."

He watched as her amethyst eyes turned blissful. This caused his baby blue ones to turn loving.

"I do. I want you too."

"But I can't."

"You aren't ready."

She gazed at him, her eyes dimming down. "Exactly."

"I will find a way to fix my appearance."

"I don't see anything wrong with it."

"I do."

"What?"

"It's repulsing."

"To you… but others around you don't think so."

"My mom and you are the only people who've seen me like this."

"What happened?"

Danny paused and stepped back. He tucked his hands in his pockets before beginning his story.

"You know how I used to bully people at school? Judged them by their looks and what not?"

"Yeah."

"Well, there's this girl… Zonda…"

"I know her. She's isolative. Really awkward. What did she do?"

"I kept messing with her… she… cast some kind of hex on me."

"A hex?"

"She's Voodoo… or Hoodoo… or whatever. She put a hex on me. I have six months… to have a girl admit that she loves me. If I don't…"

He looked at himself in the mirror behind Sam.

"I'm stuck like this for the rest of my life."

"There has to be a way to reverse it."

"There is," Danny started and held her hand. "If you tell me you love me…"

She took her hand away. "I can't."

"Sam, I won't lose you… and you won't lose me."

"How do you know that?! I've already lost everything that mattered to me! You're the _only_ one left! I can't… no, I _won't…_ lose you too!"

"Sam, I'm half ghost. I can fight. I can kill. I'll be fine."

Sam hugged herself and began to cry. "You don't know that!"

"I do!"

She flinched as he yelled, sulking even farther into her little shell. Danny mentally slapped himself for nipping at her. _What did I just do? She's only trying to help_

_you and you're acting like the world's worse boyfriend. Way to go, Fenton. You just suck at life completely. _

"No… don't cry… I'm sorry."

He embraced her, her head resting on his chest. His arms laid on her waist, keeping her enveloped in his love.

"I'm sorry, Sammy. I didn't mean to yell at you. I'm sorry."

A knock sounded at her door, causing Sam to jump in surprise. Danny covered her mouth and shushed her.

"Samantha?" A man's voice sounded from behind it. Danny turned invisible just as Jeremy opened the door and looked around. As he'd seen nothing but a messy bed and clothes pile. He smiled slightly as he noticed his daughter's messy room, a clear sign that she was clearly still going through a teenage phase. This at least gave him some hope that she was still herself [normal], even after her mother's death. Just as he was about to shut her door, Sam gave out a slight muffle and Danny silence her even more. Jeremy stopped, addressing the sound immediately. He searched around yet again.

"Samantha?"

No sound.

He shrugged figuring that he was just hearing noises and shut the door.

Danny reappeared and took a deep breath.

"That was close."

"What just happened?"

"I turned us invisible. He couldn't see us, but he could sure as heck hear _you."_

"I'm sorry. You should've just let me say something."

"I couldn't take the risk of him finding me."

"Why are you so secretive? He's just my dad."

"He can't see me like this Sam. I'm not me."

She gave him a look. "I know."

"Come on," Danny said, pulling away from the hugging position and tugged at her hand.

"Where are we going?"

"We're stopping at my house so that I can get ready. Then, I'm going to take you somewhere special."

"Special?"

"Well, maybe not all that special, but I'll do the best that I can."

"Hmm," Sam muttered. "Alright. Let's go."

Danny changed form and picked her up. Sam wrapped her arms around his neck and Danny tightened his grip on her.

"Are you comfortable?" he asked her.

"Yeah." She nodded.

He turned intangible and phased through the wall, flying higher into the air with each passing second.

"Whatever you do, don't look down… that is, if you have acrophobia, don't look down."

Sam grew slightly nervous as she felt the wind breeze through her hair and upon her face. In a brief second, she felt herself losing her grip. She slowly edged herself closer. Danny looked down at her, feeling her shaking in fear.

"Are you scared?"

"No… just a little nervous."

"Don't worry, I've got you. I promise I won't let you fall."

"You aren't going to go fast, are you?"

"Only if you don't want me to."

She nodded and placed her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes. She still felt the wind blow the hair in her face, but she didn't dare open her eyes. She didn't want to make Danny nervous and then cause him to drop her. She just shut the world out and pretended she was sitting in front of a fan in her room. It helped her keep her mind off of the fact that she was over 200 feet in the air. And sure as ever, it did help, too. Before she even knew, they were landing in Danny's bedroom. He set her down and changed back.

"I'll be right back," Danny said. Sam nodded a little bit as Danny began taking articles of clothing out of his dresser and walked into the bathroom next door.

As Sam waited for him to finish cleaning himself up, she toured his room, viewing some of the things around her. She found a lot of new things about her boyfriend, like that fact that he probably wanted to be an astronaut when he was older, as he had space and aeronautic materials and posters on his walls. He seemed to be in love with outer space. On his desk, which held his computer, there was a picture frame, and inside of it, there was Danny in a family photo with his mom, a man, who looked like his father, and a teenaged girl with orange hair.

_Maybe that's his sister,_ she thought to herself. She made her way to the mirror hanging on his wall. Looking closer into it, she viewed herself over.

_God, I look awful. I wish Danny didn't do what he did._

She took a deep breath and turned away from her reflection, going to his bed, and plopping down on it. She grinned as an idea formed in her head.

_This is the perfect time to get Danny back for the whole shower thing._

She rose from the bed and peeked her head out in the hallway. When she seen that nobody was around, she tip-toed to all of the doors, listening for the sound of water running. Once she found what she thought was the correct door, she got on the ground and peered in the crack underneath the door.

_This is the bathroom, alright._

She could tell because she'd seen the toilet, the sink and the shower, which was already occupied by her boyfriend. She opened the door a little bit and sneaked up to the sink. Then, with a gesture as haste as a snake with its prey, she flicked one of the faucet nozzles the right and quickly left the bathroom. Just as she shut the door, she heard Danny's frustrated voice.

"Sam!"

She giggled and rushed back to his room, shutting the door behind her and quickly taking her position on his bed. From outside of the door, she could hear footsteps, and they sounded like Danny's, considering they weren't very heavy due to Danny not having any shoes on. She covered her mouth to stop herself from laughing and cleared her throat. That's when she realized that the sounds stopped. She grew curious and looked up toward the door. She seen no shadow underneath the door and the door itself was in the same place as Sam had left it. The only thing drastically different was the temperature in the room, which had suddenly decreased.

The next thing Sam felt were a pair of hands on her thighs, trailing up toward her abdomen. She gasped, not knowing what to expect next, since she couldn't see her invisible lover.

"D-Danny?"

She felt his breath exhale upon her skin, right where her stomach is.

"Shh," he whispered as he pushed up her shirt, planting kisses on her taut stomach. She reached down to feel for his shoulders, but she felt her hand being enclosed by his.

"I wouldn't feel around too much if I were you."

She blushed. "Danny, don't tell me that you're…"

"Yep… 'cause someone decided to interrupt my shower."

"Danny, I…"

She was cut off by his lips being placed against hers. At first gentle, it became more and more passionate each time she tried to pull away. She felt his hands rest on her hip and she wiggled underneath him.

"Why are you torturing me?"

"Why did you ruin my shower?"

"I asked you a question first."

"Because you ruined my shower. Why did you?"

"I was trying to get you back."

"For what?"

"For making me nervous during my shower… and for tossing my make-up out of reach."

"Then I guess this is just my way of increasing the odds."

Right afterward, she felt his weight lift off of her. She leaned up and looked around.

"Danny? Are you still in here?"

When she got no response, she stood up and hugged herself.

"Danny, not funny."

She heard the bathroom door open and then shut.

_I guess he's in the bathroom._

But that didn't stop her from waving her hand near the bedroom to see if she'd hit him. She felt nothing and drew a long breath.

_Good. I guess he's gone._

She waited a few minutes before she heard him come out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. Thankfully, he was in his original (fully dressed, mind you) and wasn't invisible, trying to proceed to play the joke on her. Her heart was already trying to steady itself from the past event. The last thing she needed was another practical joke from him.

"Did you enjoy the little show that I put on for you?" he grinned.

"No," she said, "it was torturous."

He chuckled and dropped the towel to the floor, comforting her with another embrace.

"Oh, it was just a wittle joke," he cooed.

"You were _naked."_

"Sam," he said, "I told you, I'm not like the rest of the guys. I would _never_ disrespect you like that."

"Well, still. I didn't feel comfortable, Danny."

"I know. I ish sorry."

"Ugh," she scoffed. "You can be so unpredictable sometimes, you know that?"

"I wouldn't have let you touch my…"

"I get it, Danny. You don't have to finish that sentence. Please don't."

"I won't." He shrugged and frowned, looking around. Then he began to perform the same action more frantically.

"What?" Sam asked.

"My ski mask," he said. "I forgot it at your house."

"We can run back and get it."

"No. I don't want to take you into the air more than you need to be."

"Well… do you have a sister?"

Danny looked at her confused. "Yeah. Her name's Jazz. Why?"

"Does she wear make-up?"

His look turned frightened. "No."

"Please? It's only foundation and I'll only cover up your markings and the… veins?"

"No."

"Babe, do you want to go out there looking like that?"

"No," he mumbled.

"Okay. Then I _have_ to do this."

Sam walked out of the bedroom and across the hall, knocking on the door.

"Come in!" a feminine voice called from inside.

Sam started in and stopped in the middle of her room. Jazz turned in her office chair, her orange hair flowing along the way.

"Oh. Hey! You're… Sam. Right?"

"Yeah. I'm a… good friend of Danny's."

"Yeah. He's said a lot about you."

"I'm sure he has…"

"What do you need?"

"Oh, can I borrow your cosmetics bag?"

"Sure," she answered and stood up, reaching in her dresser drawer and pulling it out. She handed it to Sam, and she took it gratefully.

"Thank you." Sam said.

"Oh, you're welcome."

"I'll be right back with it."

"You're fine. Take your time."

Sam politely smiled then exited the room, going into Danny's. She set the bag on his bed and unzipped it, pulling out foundation. She put a small dot of it on her finger and went to him.

"Do we really?"

"Yes."

She smeared the foundation over the blood vein upon his face, covering it up completely. Then she worked her way around it, tackling the black veins that occupied other sections of his face.

"Can I look in the mirror please?"

"No. Not until I'm done."

Sam then went from his face to his neck and worked at the black veins trailing along his neck. Once she was pleased with the foundation, she put it back in the bag and pulled out the cover-up.

"What's that?" Danny asked.

"It's just cover-up, to smooth out the colors of the foundation and blend it in more to make it look a little less like you painted your face."

"Huh?" Danny said clueless.

"It blends the colors together. That way, your face looks less… painted."

"Oh."

Sam rolled her eyes slightly and took the polyester out, dabbing it in the powder, and smearing it over his marks.

"This isn't hurting you, is it?" she asked him, continuing her work.

"No. It's almost like you're touching my regular skin. It's funny. These marks have become a part of me so easily… it's like I was born with them. I hate this curse."

_Poor Danny,_ Sam thought. _He can be a jerk and all, but he didn't deserve to have this curse placed upon him. Besides, boys will be boys._

Then Sam placed the polyester back in the cover-up tray and shut it, placing it back in the cosmetics bag.

"Done." She took a step back and framed his face. "I think it looks good."

Danny turned toward the mirror and looked.

"Holy crap…" he started, feeling his face. Sam guided his hand back to his side.

"Try not to touch your face too much," Sam said. "It can come off."

"Sam," he began, looping his arm around her shoulders. Sam snuggled closer and watched as her boyfriend fell in love with the look of his old appearance. "You made me look like… me."

"I told you, but you wanted to be a baby. And now look at you. Do I get a thank you?"

"A thank you?" Danny turned toward her and showered her in kisses. "You get more than just a thank you."

"Okay, okay. Danny, we have to get ready to go… wherever you were going to take me."

"Oh yeah!" he exclaimed and went to put his shoes on.

Sam hovered over him, crossing her arms.

"So… are you going to tell me where we're going?"

"Well..." Danny said. "No… _but_ I will tell you that we will be eating there."

He grabbed his wallet and tucked it in his pocket. Then he changed form and held out his hand. "Ready?"

"Yeah," she smiled and took it. He picked her up, turned intangible and flew through her wall.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Alrighty. Chapter was a little longer this time, but it took me HOURS to get done. **

**Anyway, I just want to say that I'm planning on making an MEP on YouTube and if you want to join (I haven't made the video yet though).**

**Alrighty. Well, this is the first time that I've uploaded two chapters in one day (yay!) and it's still April Fool's Day, so I'll have to ask a different question today for our Question of the Chapter, because I already asked an April Fool's question in the last chapter. :P**

**Uhh. Oh! How about:**

"_Will you search up Vivalandra's YouTube account for her? Pretty please with those dark licorice sprinkles and the black frosting Sam likes with those little gummy bats on top?"_

**I'm known as VivalandraFilms on YouTube. I create Sims 2 films… so far. I **_**might**_** move on to cartoon/game/movie MEPs if I can get Sony Vegas to agree with my video formats. -_-**

**Well anyway,**

**PleaseR&R,**

**~ Vivalandra**


	8. The Fight

**A/N: Here I am, writing again. **

**I told you that I'd catch up a little bit more over spring break. :P**

**Okay, so, let's keep the wheel turning.**

**I don't precisely know how long or short this chapter is going to be… but I guess we'll just figure it out as we go along.**

**Here we go!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8 – The Fight<strong>

Even though it seemed utterly ridiculous, Danny took Sam's advice of wearing foundation and cover-up to hide the effect of his curse. Sam had generously offered to come over to Danny's house every school day and do his "make-up" before heading off to school. Danny always walked with her, sometimes holding her backpack for her (otherwise she'd shoo him away). Even though Danny was at first nervous that people would say something to him about being out of school for an awful long time, he was still siked to go back. But not all things were good. He never forgot about that ass-whoopin' he was supposed to give Dash, which was guaranteed to be carried out.

For now, they walked down the halls toward their lockers. Nobody gave Danny any frightened looks, so that made him five times more grateful. The rest of the high schoolers stared at them in disbelief, looking to see if they were actually dating or if they were imagining it all. After all, Danny and Sam were holding hands, and that's not just something that occurs out of the blue, especially between A-Lister Danny and Gothic Freak Sam Manson.

"Everyone's staring at us," Sam whispered to Danny as her eyes narrowed to each teenager that they passed.

"That's because they've never seen us like this," he whispered back.

Once they were in front of Sam's locker, he held her belongings for her while she worked at the dial. In a matter of seconds, she had her locker open, and Danny gripped her backpack on his left shoulder while she took her books from his hand and put on of them in and leaving one out, it being her Science book, since they had Lancer first period. She took the liberty of unraveling her backpack strap from his shoulder and stuffing in her locker before shutting it, still gripping her textbook. Danny then worked at his locker a few ways down and opened it, exchanging his materials. He grabbed his Science textbook as well and shut the door. The two then made their way straight into Lancer's classroom. Amazingly enough (not really), they didn't step but three feet in before they received the nastiest looks. Danny's eyes darted around in fright, paranoid that maybe the foundation wore off and they could see his face.

"Does my face look alright?" Danny whispered.

Sam crowed her head, angling it toward his face. "It looks fine to me."

"Is the foundation still on there?"

"Yeah," she nodded.

"Good," Danny breathed in relief and sat at his desk. Sam followed, sitting right next to him. He was slightly anxious, but also terrifyingly vigilant. He missed _months_ of school. He was probably awfully behind in credits. But that was fine, to him. He understood the circumstances; he knew he couldn't go to school looking as he did, and wearing a ski mask in school probably wouldn't stand with school codes. In fact, it was probably highly restricted against them.

Sam snuck a quick look at him, seeing his leg move in anxiety. She couldn't help but find it adorable. She pictured him a few days earlier, in her room, undressed so that she could tend to his wounds. His well-built body sent chills up her spine. And that _stunt_ he pulled yesterday… it almost set her heart on fire. She could only imagine… imagine bringing him closer to her, being on top of her, sweating, panting…

_STOP! What the hell are you thinking about?! You're out of your mind! Stop thinking that way… you know you're not ready for something like that!_

She quickly turned her face away from him completely. She had to stop her hormones from going a hundred miles a minute.

But then it was Danny's turn to fantasize.

His eyes trailed all the way up her body, from her feet to her breasts… and then to her neck. He could only imagine kissing that tender piece of flesh all night long, slowly working his way down, guiding his hands to the hem of her shirt, slowly pushing it up, over her head, unhooking her bra… working at her skirt...

_God, stop! Sam deserves way better than that! Don't treat her like she's some prostitute! She has feelings! She's… fragile._

Coincidentally, he snapped out of his thoughts right when the bell was ringing. Mr. Lancer stepped into the room, suit and black tie, black pants and, yes, a bald head, but what else would you expect?

"Good morning, class," he began. In response, he got a bunch of moaning high school students. "Now, now, I hate Mondays just as much as you do, so just tame it down, and hopefully this day will go by nice and smooth."

His eyes eventually landed on Danny.

"Ah, Mr. Fenton, you've decided to come back, I see?"

"Yes sir," Danny said cockily. "Did 'ya miss me?"

"Now, now, don't get all cocky. You have a _lot_ of catching up to do before finals. Maybe Ms. Manson here would care to tutor you… every day… after school. Until then, pay attention, and _don't fall asleep_ like you normally do in class."

"Aye, aye, captain."

"Glad to see that your sense of humor still berates you," Lancer said in monotone. "Now," he continued, "we are going to continue with the lesson that we started on from Friday."

"What did we work on Friday?" Danny whispered.

"_We_ worked on child development," Sam responded quietly.

"What?" He repeated in shock.

"Child… development, you know, as in sperm cells, ovaries, semen, fetus, etc."

"Oh dear God," he groaned, letting his head bang against the desk.

"Danny!" Sam cried in a whisper.

"Mr. Fenton! What did I just say about falling asleep in class?!"

"I wasn't," Danny's head shot up. "Mr. Lancer, are we seriously talking about child development?"

"It's a standard learning assessment that each high school student must learn some time before the end of the year. Yes, we are learning about it."

"What's the matter, Fenton?" Dash smirked, "too prissy for the big kid stuff?"

The whole class laughed and some of the jocks slapped him high fives. Danny frowned and turned toward him. Sam gazed, watching his reaction closely.

_Uh oh, I think Danny's about to off his top._

"You know Dash," Danny said, "if I were you, right now, at this exact moment… I wouldn't do anything to piss me off."

"Fenton, watch your language!" Mr. Lancer barked. Danny only ignored him.

"What did you just say, Fenton?" Dash fumed.

"You heard me, because I sure as hell didn't stutter."

"Danny, what are you doing?" Sam asked Danny with concern.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dash stood up and walked closer.

"I'm talking about Sam," Danny said, matching his height, "and what you _attempted_ to do to her on Friday. Ring any bells?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Dash stood his ground.

"Get out of my face Dash, or you're going to regret it."

"Is that a threat or a promise, Fenton?"

"It's both."

"Alright," Sam stood and tugged at Danny's arm, "That's enough."

"No, no. I want to hear this," Dash interrupted her.

"Enough! Everyone back to their seats!" Mr. Lancer attempted once more, but to no avail.

"Don't act like you don't know what you tried to do. I bet you and the rest of the football team have been making a few bets that you could get into Sam's pants before the school year ends. But no, that's just too challenging for you. Instead, you want to try and cop a feel… and strangely enough, you tried to do so… _thinking _I wouldn't find out about it."

"And how did you?"

"Shocker, you no longer have amnesia."

"Answer my question, damn it!"

"Sam. She told me."

Dash furiously turned his glare toward her. Sam, being as tough as she is, normally isn't very scared of boys or men equally, but Dash was three times bigger than she is… and tougher. Once, she had seen him squeeze all of the air out of a basketball… and there was _no_ hole in it whatsoever. She slid her way behind Danny, who set himself as a protective shield for her.

"Everyone, to their seats, or I will issue out detentions!" Lancer commanded.

Dash's glare softened as he turned back to Danny.

"Oh come on Danny," he began with a more cooling voice, "the guys and I were just trying to have a little bit of fun…"

"Well take your _fun_ somewhere else besides with my girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" the class repeated in a shocking manner.

"Have fun with Paulina."

"Well, let's admit it… Paulina's a simple D… Sam must be at least a double. Besides," he inched himself closer to them, "I bet you have fun punishing her at night."

"You're disgusting," Sam scoffed. "Shut up!"

"Leave her alone, Dash," Danny warned him cautiously.

"Feisty… you must be rough under the bed sheets." Dash's eyes turned to Sam, and they became hungry… lustful. Danny didn't like it one bit, as it had caused his eyes to flash green. In fact, he attacked right on instinct. He threw his fist right into Dash's right eye, making him fly back, knocking a few desks over. Danny ran to him and crouched over, adding more to his nose and jaw.

"Asshole!" Danny yelled, clocking him right in the forehead. He kept going and going as Sam looked at him in fear. _He's going to kill him! _She thought.

"Danny!" Sam ran to him and pulled at his shoulders. "Danny, stop it!"

"That's enough!" Lancer dashed toward them, sticking his arms between them, pushing them apart. "Break it up!"

Dash swung and missed but Danny made a counter attack, hitting Dash right in the throat. Even with Mr. Lancer loosely between them and Sam tugging at Danny from behind, they were still able to go at each other. All the other kids in the classroom were cheering, chanting Danny's name over and over.  
>"Danny, stop!" Sam tried to pull Danny away. Dash managed to get a punch into his left eye, but Danny didn't care. His adrenaline was pumping heavily in his veins.<p>

"Stop, Danny!" Sam shouted. Danny finally pulled away. Dash stood, struggling slightly to regain his balance. He bent over and coughed, blood flying from his mouth to the floor. Danny just about went after him when Sam parked in front of him, holding her hands out, touching his chest.

"Easy," Sam soothed. "Take it easy, Danny."

Danny halted as he looked into her eyes. She always knew how to hypnotize him with them. He focused on her voice, calming himself and taking deep breaths. Sam turned to make sure Dash wasn't dead and the jocks were surrounding him, making sure he was okay. Dash looked up, catching Danny's eyes.

"You're lucky she's here," he growled, his voice raspy.

"I think it's the other way around," Danny responded.

"Alright. Ms. Manson, take Daniel down to the nurse."

"Yes sir," Sam nodded and took Danny's hand, guiding him out of the room and down the hall. On the way there, Sam began a conversation with the question that was dwelling in her mind.

"What the hell were you thinking?!"

"I'm sorry, I just…"

"Shut up," she interrupted, slowly pushing him against the lockers. "Let me see your head."

"My head's fine," Danny mumbled.

"No, it's not."

She felt his head and when she pulled away, blood was soaking her fingers.

"Oh God… you're bleeding!"

"Okay, well I'm better than him at least."

"Come on," she said, continuing on to the nurse's office. "We got to get you to the nurse."

* * *

><p>"Well," the nurse started, looking over Danny's face, "you don't look all that bad to me. Your eye is going to form a nasty bruise and your head wound isn't all that deep. But whoever did this to you really got some good punches in."<p>

She took off her glove and set it aside. Sam leaned against the east wall, watching silently as the nurse began to massage his temples.

"Who did this to you, son?" she asked him.

"Dash Baxter," Danny responded. "But it was my fault ma'am. I started the fight."

The nurse shook her head. "Danny, you're better than this. What happened?"

"He was making really sexual threats about me," Sam replied. "Danny responded… _drastically_ to the situation."

"Dash is troublesome," the nurse scoffed. "I'll tell 'ya, I don't know about that boy. You should've just avoided him, Daniel. It would've saved you trouble."

"He tried to sexually harass Sam on Friday… I couldn't just sit there and not do anything about it."

"Did Sam tell the principal?"

"Yes ma'am," Sam answered. "She said she'd take care of it by suspending him, but he was in school today, so I'm guessing that she forgot."

The nurse moved back in her chair and stood.

"Well, you kids are free to go. Just, please, try and stay out of trouble."

"Yes ma'am," Sam said and helped Danny up. "Thank you."

"No problem," she replied, continuing around the corner to her desk.

"Let's go," Sam said as Danny followed her out of the room. Just as they were leaving, Dash was getting ready to come in. Danny caught his eye for just a second before Sam pulled him along to avoid the building of more tension. Fortunately, Danny came easy, and Sam didn't have to worry about another brawl commencing.

As they walked down the hall, Sam's pace gradually picked itself up, and Danny wondered if she was avoiding him because she was angry at him.

"Sam? Are you mad at me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"You overreacted!"

"Sam," Danny tried to stop her. He rushed after her and stopped her by grabbing her arm. She turned to face him as he continued. "What do you mean, 'I overreacted'?"

"You're not like the average teenaged boy. You're half ghost. Your strength is heightened significantly! You could have killed him Danny, and then you would've been labeled a murderer! You'd go to jail for manslaughter! Is that really what you want?!"

"He was looking at you like a piece of meat, Sam! You're anything but that! You don't deserve to be looked at like that by _anybody._ Not Dash, not me… no one!"

"That doesn't matter! Even if Dash did look at me like that, he didn't deserve to be beaten like that!"

"So you were going to just let him get away with treating you like that?"

"I would never wish something to happen to someone if it would've concluded in killing them. You may have been raised to think that violence is right, but I'm not!"

"Violence is needed sometimes, Sam! There are just some things that words can't settle! So if that's the case, then fists must be involved."

"It _doesn't matter, _Danny! I haven't seen that much blood on someone since I've found my mother dead in the alleyway years ago!"

Danny's face softened, the realization finally hitting him.

_That's why she thinks it's so wrong. I gave her a picture of something she was trying to forget… oh man. What did I do?_

Sam turned away from and gazed at the floor.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"No Sam, I'm sorry," he replied, hugging her from behind. "You hate violence… and now I understand why. You're right. I got out of control. I didn't even stop when I heard your voice."

"Didn't you want to?"

"Yeah… I did… but I felt like I couldn't."

"Why not?"

"I felt like he needed more. I stood there as he was approaching us, thinking about what he did to you on Friday… and I why I wasn't there to stop it. I should've been there. He could've done more than just touch you… a _lot_ more."

"I had everything under control Danny. He didn't do anything to me to be punished."

"He needs to learn, Sam, that you aren't slutty like all the other girls at this school are. They're easy to have sex with because their legs are easier to open, mainly because they open them themselves. They don't have morals like you do. You're fragile and you have feelings. They have nothing but broads, while you have that and a brain. You're the perfect girlfriend Sam. Any guy would deserve someone like you, but that doesn't entirely mean that you deserve them… like guys like me."

Sam grew confused as he pulled away.

"I don't deserve you Sam… and clearly you don' t deserve me. I'm too violent for someone like you. I make you feel uncomfortable. I take my jokes too far. And I've lied to you, kept too many secrets."

Danny moved past her but she grabbed his arm to stop him. Danny looked down at her hand then followed it all the way up to her face, which contained an apologetic look. That's when she hugged snuggly and said something that Danny would never forget: "No guy is perfect… but you're probably the best I'll ever have."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: BOOM! CLIFFHANGER! I'm done now. :)**

**Okay, so I really hope that you guys liked this spicy, seasoned chapter and are able to wait until the next one... whenever it may come. Probably soon. I get bored real easily. :P**

**Okay, so, here's the Question of the Chapter!**

_"What is your favorite brand of cereal?"_

**I don't know where this came front. I guess I just wanted to know. xD**

**Oh, and if you guys happen to see the movie "Evil Dead" before I can of Friday, will you let me know how it is? Don't give me any spoilers, just give me one word. Keep it as concise as possible, 'cause I want to see it for myself.**

**PleaseR&R,**

**Vivalandra**


	9. Shocking News (Part 1 of 2)

**A/N: This chapter is a special chapter. It has two parts! :)**

**Chapter 9 – Shocking News**

**[Part 1 of 2]**

* * *

><p>The school week went by pretty fast. Sam and Danny continued the same exact routine every day, but they didn't mind. They actually found it kind of cute. Dash never interfered with Sam anymore and he practically feared Danny, taking routes other than the one that they were taking and staying as far away from him as possible, <em>when<em> possible. Danny studied more and more every day about the Wiccan religion, along with the Voodoo religion and the Hoodoo theory, as apparently, Hoodoo wasn't a religion, but a group of magical spells. He searched for an answer, solution, a cure or whatever to the curse placed upon him. Sam happened to come home recently to a surprisingly loud house, since it was always so quiet between her dad and Teresa. They were arguing about money, which never really seemed to be a problem since Jeremy had plenty of it. They continued the argument from the time that Sam started her fertilization and development essay to the time when she was under the covers, tossing and turning, struggling to sleep.

As she continued to involuntarily listen to the bickering, she put her pillow over her ear to block out the noise, shut to door and turned on music, but nothing seemed to work. So she picked up her cell phone and called Danny, who was still awake, not that that was so interesting or surprising.

"Hey Danny," Sam mumbled once she heard him on the other end.

"Hey," he replied. "Are you okay?"

"No. I'm tired and we have that test tomorrow."

"So go to sleep, Sammy."

"I'm trying to! Teresa and Dad won't stop yelling and arguing."

"Whoa, they're arguing?"

"Money."

"Do you want to come over?" he asked her worringly.

"Yeah. Please."

"Okay. I'm coming."

"You're flying?" Sam asked.

"Um… yeah. What? Did you think that I would let you walk over here?"

"No, but… I figured by now you'd be tired of flying to come pick me up."

"I'd do anything for you, Sam."

"Thanks," she smiled. "I'll see you soon."

Sam hung up just in time to hear glass shattering in the lower level. She jumped at the sudden noise and quickly got up, opened her door and made her way downstairs. She stopped just short of the doorway, peeking around the corner. She saw Teresa in her father's face, practically screaming. The glass that was scattered along the floor had turned out to be from the vase that used to belong to Sam's grandmother. Upon seeing this, Sam grew teary-eyed.

_That was my Nana's! Who the hell does she think she is?!_

"That's not yours to destroy!" Jeremy yelled.

"I don't care! Do you think I care?! I can tell you for one second I don't care!"

"Quiet! You'll wake my daughter!"

"I don't care about her! I don't care about that vase! I don't care about this house! I don't even care about YOU! Give… me… the money!"

"No."

"Give it to me now!"

"No!"

Teresa paused and shook her head, turning away from him to pull a cigarette out of her pocket and a lighter from the fireplace mantle, lighting it. She took a drag and blew it out.

"I want my money," she began in a raspy voice. "You know that I can sue you for fraud, don't you?"

"You signed a prenup. That means that if you want a divorce, you get not a dime of my money and not a piece of my furniture."

"Where's the documentation of this accusation?" Teresa turned back to him and asked.

"It's in the safe."

"What safe?"

Jeremy pointed toward an abnormal section of lining underneath the arm chair. "That safe, the one in the floor underneath the arm chair."

She eyed him suspiciously, moving over to the arm chair. She held the cigarette between her lips and pushed the chair off to the right, feeling for the opening. Once she found it, she opened it and inside was a metallic, stainless steel fire and waterproof safe. She looked back at him, still bent over it, and removed the cigarette from her mouth.

"What's the combination?"

"Sam's birthday," Jeremy breathed.

"Do you think I know shit like that? I don't even know the girl's favorite color let alone her birthday! What… _is…_ the combination?"

"5-13-95."

Teresa moved the dial to the proper numbers and opened the door, digging through it. Sam looked even closer, peering to make sure that she wasn't tampering with anything important or getting rid of some of the paperwork out of the files. Eventually, she pulled out a manila folder that had a tab labeled _Paperwork for Marriage._ Teresa pulled it open and laid it on the floor, rummaging through it. Then, a particular paper caught her eye: **PRENUPTIAL AGREEMENT.** She took it out and stood up, skimming through it with her eyes.

"What does it say?" Jeremy asked, crossing his arms. It was easy for him to stand his ground because he already knew that he was correct.

Teresa looked up from it in horror. "I signed it."

"I told you," he shrugged. "Now, if you will kindly leave my house without further disruption, then I will resist turning you in to the police for insubordination, vandalism and domestic violence."

Teresa shook her head. "No. The way I see it, half of _everything_ in the house belongs to me… and I'm not leaving until I get it."

"The paper that tells you that's not true is right in front of you, yet you still attempt to convince me that it isn't true when your signature is right there. Your actions are formidable, yet futile. Please leave."

"No!"

She took the lighter and ignited a small corner of the paper.

"What are you doing?!" Jeremy dashed toward her and tried to grab the paper, but she tossed it in the unlit fireplace. As it sat there burning into ashes, Jeremy stood in one spot, glaring at her and panting.

"And now," she started, getting into his face again, "there is _no_ prenup."

She started toward the doorway in which Sam was hiding behind. Sam panicked and quickly tried to run up the stairs, but Teresa caught her just in time.

"And just what were you doing down here, little snoop?"

Sam slowly turned around and began to explain. "I heard a noise, the sound of glass breaking. I came because I was scared."

"Aw. Poor little baby, all curled up in her bed… until she hears one noise… and thinks she's suddenly a part of the whole ordeal."

"Leave her be Teresa," Jeremy interrupted her. "If you want to attack someone, come at me."

"Shut it you twat," Teresa growled at him and kept picking at Sam. "How much did you hear? How much did you see?"

"Enough," Sam stated concisely, "or maybe a little too much for my own good."

"The prenup?" Teresa asked.

"Yes," Sam responded. She felt a gentle touch of someone's hand running smoothly across her right shoulder. She gasped as she felt a breath trail over the back of her neck.

"_I'm right here," _she heard Danny's voice whisper in her ear.

_My invisible lover is incredibly suspicious… yet sexy,_ she thought.

"Well…" Teresa scoffed, "what are you going to do now? Turn me in to the police for a crime?"

"No ma'am."

"No? What's the catch?"

"Teresa, just stop-!" Jeremy tried to reason with his ex-wife once more.

"I said SHUT UP!" Teresa exploded.

"I won't say anything… just please don't hurt my dad."

"I'll do… whatever the _hell_ I want to do… with your father. He's _my_ husband." She took another drag.

"Not for long, hopefully," Sam mumbled. Close behind her, she could hear Danny snicker a tad bit, obviously finding it funny in his own way.

"What did you just say?" Teresa snapped.

"Nothing, Teresa. I said nothing." Sam shivered.

"_Come on, Sam,"_ Danny quietly ushered her.

"You said something. What did you mumble?"

"Nothing…. I said nothing," the Gothic teenager repeated, hoping to make Teresa drop the whole thing in general.

Teresa slowly made her way up the staircase toward her while Sam and Danny backed away.

"Don't think that I'm alright with you. Don't think I can't make your life a living hell just because I'm your stepmother. I will beat you so senselessly that you will be practically begging for God to take your soul." She tossed her cigarette off to the side.

"_I won't let her hurt you," _Danny whispered. She felt his arms snake around her waist and pull her closer towards him.

"I will wipe you clean from the face of the earth. Disrespect me… and you_ will_ regret it."

"_Come on, Sam," _Danny urged.

"Move," she whispered, hoping that he had caught it. He took the hint and soon, she felt his arms let go of her. That's when she turned and took off running, pointing herself in the direction of her room.

"Come here you little brat!" Teresa yelled.

Sam slammed her door shut urgently and locked it.

_Please tell me Danny made it in here._

Automatically, as if he heard her thoughts, he appeared right in front of her.

"What just happened?" he asked awkwardly.

"You've just witnessed my crazy ass stepmother." Sam rolled her eyes.

"I mean, you said she was bad," Danny said, "but you never said she was this bad."

"I'm afraid I wasn't over-exaggerating," she whispered.

"Do you want to stay the night with me?" he offered her in reassurance.

"Please," she spoke in a quivering voice.

They abruptly heard Teresa banging on Sam's bedroom door in the background, shouting her name over and over again and ordering her to come out. Danny kissed her softly for comfort and lifted her up, transforming and flying out of the house and into the nighttime sky. Just as they'd escaped Teresa's wrath, she managed to get the door open and was shocked to see her step-daughter was no longer in there. Jeremy followed behind her, also confused as to why he couldn't see Sam.

"Well," Teresa shrugged as she smirked at the man, "she's not my daughter…"

* * *

><p>Danny landed in his bedroom and changed back, setting Sam on her feet in the process. She turned to him, slightly puzzled. Her eyebrows seemed to knit together.<p>

"What exactly could I wear to sleep in?"

Danny gave her a light smile and walked over to his dresser, opening up one of the drawers and rummaging around and, once he pulled out a shirt, he started back toward her and handed it to her. She gladly took it and viewed it.

"The only thing that I had on short notice, but, uh… I'm sure you'll like it," he winked.

Sam laughed a little. "Actually, I'd love to sleep in this… looks comfy. Who's getting changed first?"

He bowed as he motioned his hand toward the bathroom door, palm facing up.

"Ladies first," he said politely.

"Why, thank you," Sam stuck up her nose and headed towards the door. On the way, she spotted Danny's cell phone on his nightstand. She halted and turned the tables.

"Actually, why don't you go first? There's something I kind of want to take care of first."

"Uh… okay." Danny found this odd, but he trusted Sam and her word. So with that, he left the room and headed into the bathroom, shutting the door. Sam turned to the nightstand and picked up his phone. She pressed the lock-screen and, fortunately, realized there was no passcode. She unlocked it and it took her straight to the home screen. Sam has constantly heard tales of men cheating on women and Sam just wanted to check to make sure. After all, if Danny wasn't guilty, he didn't have to worry about getting caught. Sam tapped "messaging" and began searching through his texts…

* * *

><p>"…And that Danny-kid beat up my poor baby," Paulina whined to her best friend, Star.<p>

"No joke?!" Star asked.

"Nope. The whole class saw it. He embarrassed him so much."

"Ugh. What a jackass!"

"I know right! He needs to be taught a lesson."

"Hey, I know what we can do," Amelia, a cheerleader on Paulina and Star's squad, had offered.

"What?" Star asked.

"I just got a text from Stacie. She told me she saw Danny and Sam together at Sam's house in her upstairs window."  
>"Yeah. So?"<p>

"Paulina can send Danny a text of saying something about: 'Where are you, baby?' or something like that and, if Sam were a normal girl, she'd probably look at the message and get so cheesed off or something."

Paulina and Star looked at each other and pasted the biggest of all grins upon their faces.

"OMG! Amelia, you _are_ good for something after all!"

"Thanks… I think!" Amelia answered, trying to sound happy.

Paulina snagged her phone and unlocked it, zooming through her contacts.

"Ah, ha! There he is!"

"You have his number?" Star questioned.

"I used to have crush on the kid. What can I say? He's cute."

Paulina type in a message and once she was done, she re-read it:

"_Hey baby… still waiting 4 u. R u coming soon? I can't w8 to feel you inside me. ;)"_

Then, she pressed send. The girls giggled as they fulfilled their plan and set it into motion.

* * *

><p><em>This is ridiculous, Sam,<em> the Gothic teen thought to herself. _Danny's not a cheater. He never has been and never will be. Just put his phone down._

So that's exactly what Sam did. She pressed the home button of his iPhone and set it down on the nightstand and she turned to walk away from it when she suddenly heard it vibrate. She arched her eyebrow and swung back around, picking it up, pressing the home button and viewing the message:

"_Hey baby… still waiting 4 u. R u coming soon? I can't w8 to feel you inside me. ;)"_

She gasped, her eyes watering, her heart aching, her mind spinning in circles. Danny _was_ cheating on her… why? What was she doing wrong?

But the worst part wasn't seeing the message; it was seeing who sent it.

Paulina.

Paulina Sanchez.

The most popular and most beautiful girl in the entire school, possibly the city.

Danny was cheating on Sam… for her?

"Oh… oh no… Danny…"

The screen shut off and Sam put the phone back down on the nightstand, sitting on the edge of the bed, staring into nothingness and completely lost in thought. Danny… cheating on her… with her? Why? What was she doing that Sam wasn't? It took her a lot of thinking, but she finally picked one out. She recalled telling Danny that she wasn't ready to have sex yet. And that text from Paulina… could that have been the reason? Danny promised Sam that he'd wait until she was ready! He promised! So what gives?

Sam must've been so lost in herself that she didn't hear Danny walk in. He set his clothes that he just took off into his dirty laundry hamper and seen Sam across the way, eyes narrowed at the floor, confused and shocked.

"Sam?" he called her, which brought her back to reality and to everything happening around her. Her eyes went from being shocked to being angry and they grew angrier as they fell on Danny's face. Danny, who was very puzzled but suddenly startled by Sam's appearance, drew back as if he were just slapped in the face. "Sam, what's the matter? What did I do?"

"Don't act like you don't know," she growled.

"What? Sam, you're really confusing me. What did you see?"

"I saw what I was supposed to know but didn't! How long, Danny?"

"How long what? What are you talking about-?"

"How long have you been doing this?!"

"Doing what?!"

Danny and Sam's eyes fell onto Danny's phone as it yet again dinged of a notification. Sam grabbed it and viewed it.

"Oh, look, another text from your sex-toy!"

"Sex-toy?" Danny repeated dumbstruck. "What's on my phone? Come on, let me see it."

"You want to see it?" Sam asked him sarcastically. With that, she chugged it toward him over-hand, nearly hitting his breastbone before he caught it. "Take it! What's your problem?!"

"What's my problem?! What's _YOUR_ problem?!"

He unlocked his phone and viewed his unseen text messages. As he saw that they contained and who they were from, he was nearly baffled. The first message he read is what Sam must've seen, and the second one said, which must've been the recent one that just came in, said:

"_Sweetie, I'm still w8ting."_

_What the hell…?_

Nearly all of the color drained from his face as the realization finally hit him. Sam must've thought that he was sleeping with Paulina. This was a joke! Where was this even coming from?! He barely even _looked_ at Paulina let alone talked to her!

"Sam, I swear right-hand to God this isn't what it looks like."

"Save it, Danny. This isn't a movie! You're not getting out of this!"

"I'm not sleeping with her, I swear to God! This is a joke and not a very funny one, but I swear on my life I had nothing – _NOTHING –_ to do with this!"

"Who am I supposed to believe, Danny?! Why are you doing this? Is it because I told you I'm not ready? Is it because I didn't say that I loved you? I mean… I thought you loved me. What did I do wrong?"

"I _do_ love you Sam, more than you're ever going to understand. I swear this is a lie! I would never cheat on you!"

Sam began to breathe through her mouth, her eyes welling up as she started to shake. She crossed her arms over her chest as she tried to walk past Danny.

"I have to go," she whispered.

She gave a slight sob as she walked towards Danny's bedroom door. Danny quickly stopped her by grabbing her arm. He turned her so that she was facing him and that's when he was able to get a good look at her face. The tears falling from her bloodshot eyes were streaked down, her blush infuriating into a rose-colored red.

"Sam," Danny gently grasped the back of her neck. "I love you. I swear… I love _you."_

"Danny," she grit her teeth and stared into his eyes, darkly and viciously, "let go of me."

"But-,"

"I said _let… me… go."_

Danny shook his head in disbelief as he loosened his grip on her arm. Once he did this, she was able to snatch it away from him as she turned on her heels and stomped off, opening his door and exiting the room before slamming it shut behind her. Danny stood in one spot, shocked and stunned, not moving and barely breathing, trying to sink in everything that had happened. It all flew by in blur. His eyes floated down to his phone and he stared at the screen.

_Unbelievable…_

Danny quickly rose the phone to his face and unlocked his screen, dialing Paulina's number. As soon as she picked up, her snobby, nasally voice greeted him.

"Yes?" she said sarcastically innocent.

"What the hell did you just do?" Danny nearly growled.

"Oh, I take it that Sam read the messages. Let me guess: she's leaving your house and walking home."

He rushed towards his window and pushed the curtain off to the side slightly. Sam was slowly dragging her feet along the drenched sidewalk, creating ripples in the flooded water. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest and her head was bent down, her doused hair wet from the pouring rain hitting her scalp.

"Why did you do that?" he asked Paulina, still watching Sam as she continued to glumly walk through the dark night.

"Why did you beat up my poor baby?" she hissed.

"Who, Dash? Did you not see the punches that he got in with me?"

"He came out in worse condition than you did. I figured revenge is a bitch, and that bitch would be me."

"Paulina, do you know what you've done? You've managed to ruin _everything_ in under an hour!"

"Why, thank you. I feel like a terrorist of the heart."

"Paulina, I swear to God -,"

"What? What will you do? You aren't going to hit me, that's for damn sure. Dash may be the duck out of the water, but the whole football team has got my back. And you've got absolutely nothing."

Danny remained silent, his breathing become heavier by the minute. Sam was getting even farther away from the house. If he was going to stop her, he needed to do it now. Any more steps and she'll be more than half-way down the street.

"You'd better go after her. I can tell by your silence she's gotten pretty far."

With that being said, Paulina hung up the phone and left Danny to toss it on the bed and nearly fly down the stairs, out the front door and down the sidewalk.

"Sam!" he called after her, his voice drowned out by the _pitter patter_ of the rain hitting the concrete. He touched her shoulder and she stopped, slowly meeting her eyes with his.

Her make-up was even worse now, smearing nearly all over her face. Her eyes were in the worst condition, for the black mascara had spread out, creating a mask over her amethyst orbs.

"What do you want now? What do you want from me?" Her voice quivered. She had been crying… hard. It wasn't just the rain doing the job of taking her make-up off.

"I want you to stop… and listen… to me," Danny panted between his words, trying to catch his breath.

"Listen to what? You've won, Danny! You've broken my heart! You've gotten what you wished for! What more do you want from me?!"

"Sam, it's not like that!"

"Then what is it?" her tone changed from a depressing devastation to a hiss of anger. "Because all I've been seeing is what I think is the truth."

"Sam, think about it – if I were cheating on you, don't you think I would've locked my phone, to keep you from looking through my messages?"

She remained silent, opening and closing her mouth in thought. She finally looked at the ground and shrugged hastily. "I don't know!"

"Yes, you do! Look, I'm not like the guys on the football team! Yeah, I was a popular guy, who hung around the jocks and stood in the wrong crowd… but then I saw you. I saw you… and then all of a sudden, I didn't want that life anymore. You mean so much more to me than any of those assholes. I'm not the kind of guy who dates for the thrill… I'm the kind of guy who wants to find the girl that's suitable for my kind and hopefully, I'd be with them long enough to where I could someday take their hand in marriage."

Sam shook her head lightly in disgust. She couldn't believe her ears. Did he think that he could just _buy_ her – as if she were Teresa? Did he think that offering up his hand in future marriage was going to make everything better?

No.

She'd be damned to let her melt before him – to become nothing but putty in his hands.

"What am I to you, Danny?" she snipped, holding her arms out lengthwise to express exaggeration, "Some kind of a rich girly-girl who loves jewelry and _Gucci_ and gold? This isn't a Nicholas Sparks novel! You can't fix this!"

"This has nothing to do with that! I love you, Sam, and nobody – not even Paulina or Dash or the whole football team – could ever change that! And there has to be _some way_ that I can prove that to you!"

"You want to prove to me that you love me?" Sam repeated.

"Yes, yes, more than anything!"

"Then STAY. AWAY. FROM ME!" she cried and turned on her heels, running away from him. He took one step forward, throwing his right hand out towards her. He wanted to feel her hair, but all he was able to come in contact with was the rain that was falling upon his milky-white skin. The sound of her combat boots hitting the concrete below her feet grew more and more faint as seconds passed by, and she became just a little blurry figure in the distance until she finally disappeared.

Danny's breathing, once steady and paced, was now very uneven and shallow. His face was flushed with a heavy dose of rose-red and he began to grit his teeth. He threw his arms around and screamed in anger. He shook his head. He clutched his hair. He keeled over and leaned, his hands on his knees.

Sam was the only girl he's ever loved and ever cared about his entire life.

And now, just like a flash,

She was gone.

Maybe forever.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Okay, so I'm gonna go ahead and stop here and fill you guys in on some things:**

**I'm back now. I know I've been gone forever and I won't say that it's not gonna happen again because I know it will. But I quit the basketball team. I didn't like it; it wasn't for me. And I think I'm just going to wait until I'm conditioned enough for **_**anything**_** before I go out for it.**

**My FanFiction birthday just passed! It was December 18, and now I've been on here for three years. Wow. I can't believe that. Thank you to the ones that have been there with me since the very beginning and to the ones who have found me along the way and still continue to stay by me, no matter how much my story suck. xD**

**High school is getting better. My freshman year has been hard starting in, but it really isn't that bad now that we've reached mid-terms and the year is almost over. I am now on winter break! :DDD Eh-thenk-yer! I have planned out that I am graduating with an academic honors diploma and I will stay in the fine arts academy. Absolutely amazing!**

**Holy guacamole, I haven't asked how you guys have been! -_- I apology for my narcissism. **

**If you guys are willing to, go ahead and fill me in on your guy's lives. How have you guys been? What have you guys been up to? Most importantly, are you doing anything special for Christmas this year?! :D**

**You know what…**

**I mind as well make that my Question of the Chapter!**

"_What special thing are you doing for Christmas this year?"_

**I want to upload a Danny Phantom Christmas video on my account, but I dunno. ;-; Only if it's done by then.**

**Whale then!**

**PleaseR&R,**

**Vivalandra**

**Have a very Merry Christmas and super Happy New Year!**

**And a Happy Hanukkah!**

**And a Happy Kwanza!**


	10. Shocking News (Part 2 of 2)

_*Read this before you go on?*_

**A/N: I wanted to start by saying thank you to each and every one of you reviewers. I would seriously be NOTHING without you guys. If you weren't supporting me through these past three years with my stories and my rants, I would seriously have nothing to look forward to when I go to this website. You guys are the closest thing to a family that I have without meeting you face-to-face. You have no idea how grateful I am to have people read my work and give me tips and advice on writing and sending outrageously crazy reviews that make me smile when I have a stormy cloud over my head. Through thick and thin you guys were here, and it takes a lot to stay by someone's side for so long. I know that I don't reply to your guy's reviews, but I do read them, and they make me want to keep going in life and just forget all of the negative BS so many people have filled my head with. YOU GUYS are the reason I want to propel myself forward in writing, otherwise I would've just dropped everything and quit all together. And just like you've heard me out… I'm gonna hear all of you guys out. If you EVER need ANYTHING, I am one PM away. Don't hesitate to contact me!**

**And now for the second part you guys have all been waiting for.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10: Shocking News [Part 2 of 2]<strong>

He didn't know what to do. All he did was pace the floor back and forth repeatedly, trying to think of a way to solve the problem. Granted, Danny wasn't much of a mathematician, so by "solve the problem", that's a reference to Sam accusing Danny of cheating on her with Paulina. He didn't even know where to begin - everything was fine until the Latina dropped in and ruined everything. Now he had lost the love of his life, and it was all Paulina's fault. He kept checking his phone to see if he would happen to have gotten any texts or missed calls from her, but all he saw was the picture of him and her as his lock screen. He sighed as he let his phone fall upon his mattress. It seemed that no matter how much hope that he had for her to finally come to her senses, nothing was going to play out the way that he wanted it to. He wanted to fly to her house to check on her, but what good would it have done? He knew how he was going to find her, all teary-eyed and broken-hearted. He didn't want to see her in such pain; he knew for a fact his heart wouldn't take it. Plus, if he were to go there, she would just slam the window in his face and tell him to leave her alone. It was made very clear to Danny that she didn't want to hear another word from him. She even told him to stay away from her if he truly loved her. Well, he truly loved her, so maybe, he thought, he should stay away from her.

But another part of him knew that he had to get through to Sam somehow. He has to keep working to convince her of his innocence. There had to have been something he could've done. He couldn't just sit by and let Paulina win… not like this. This isn't the only time she's caused a catastrophe with her actions. But if Danny truly loved Sam and truly hated Paulina, he'd make sure it was her last.

He checked his phone once more. Still nothing.

He took many deep breaths, picturing Sam now. He had wondered what she was doing.

If she was okay.

God he hoped she was okay.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sam<strong>_

The sky was dark. The moon was out, casting a small light through the crack in Sam's blinds covering her window. Candles were lit throughout the room, so it was dim, but not too dark. The young teen's face was buried deep within her pillow. Her breathing, though very shallow and deep, was steady, each pace accurate, in through her nose and out her mouth. She sniffled slightly, sucking in some of the mucus that had gathered and clogged in her nasal passage, exhaling to pace her breathing.

She didn't know what to think anymore. She had thought that Danny loved her. He cuddled her. He kissed her. And all of those night-time flying sessions… was all of that stuff just pretend? And the whole "protecting" thing against Teresa… where had that come from? Danny promised her… he promised her that he'd wait until she was ready to go all the way. But this whole time, he was eager all along.

But then again, Danny did have a point. If he was really all that secretive, wouldn't he have locked his phone to prevent Sam from finding out in the first place? And Paulina wasn't the most honest person in the school - why should anybody trust her, let alone Sam? Plus, it's funny how that text message was the first message in the conversation sent to Danny's phone in the first place. It's like she hadn't been texting Danny all night, but the first text message she sent to his phone was supposed to be some kind of "continuance" to a conversation that they never even had.

This sucked. Her first relationship, and it's ruined within a few months.

She was trapped, and because this was her first relationship, she didn't know how boys were.

With every negative thought she had about him, there was a positive one. All the time they spent flying in the night sky and how Danny had held her so close and whispered that he loved her. How he'd kiss her so passionately, right after he had glanced at her lips, bit his lips softly, gently grazed her cheek with his hand. How he'd wrap his arms around her waist and whisper "I love you" in her ear. Memories like that just don't fade, even when you try not to care about them.

A soft knock at the door had interrupted her thoughts, and she lifted her head and turned her face towards the door as it opened up cautiously. At first she thought it was Teresa, and she braced herself for the unspeakable. Once she had seen that it was her father, she loosened her muscles, which were tense with prediction.

"Hi honey," Jeremy greeted his daughter as he smiled carefully, the lines of lips playing his cheeks. "May I come in?"

"To yell at me - for intervening the quarrel between you and Teresa?"

"To make sure you're okay, because I don't want to lose my only daughter."

"Then yeah, you may come in."

The older man slowly shut the door behind him and made his way to his daughter's bed, planting a seat right next to her lying form. Sam turned over so that her stomach was facing up, and she angled her head upward to make eye-contact with her father.

"Listen Bubbla, I know that things have been very awkward between you and I ever since your mother passed away…"

"Dad," the teenage girl sighed before recovering his words, "you don't have to talk about Mom, okay? I know what happened to her… we know what happened her…"

"It's not about that."

"What's it about then?"

He sighed before touching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and his index finger, massaging it. Then he set his hand back down by his side before licking his lips and continuing.

"I wanted to apologize to you."

"For what?" Sam leaned up, more involved in the conversation.

"For marrying her," he stated simply. "I was so caught in finding someone to try to replace your mother… but I was wrong. I should've never done that… especially without consulting you first. She's a monster… and at first I loved her - I really did. But I can see now more than I ever could that she must not have felt the same for me. She loved our money."

"It's alright, Dad."

"No, it's not alright. It'll never be alright. I can't exchange the many years I'd spent smothering her and neglecting you. I miss you as a little girl, Sammy. I miss taking you out and playing catch and hoisting you up on my shoulders and swinging you around and tickling you. And I can't get those years back with you. I spent so long showering her with Prada and Nine West that I forgot the wants and needs of my little girl. And what kind of good father does that?"

Sam watched as her father buried his face in his right hand and took breath after breath, a thing that he did to stop himself from beginning to cry. All her time growing up in such a lifestyle, she'd thought her father had always cared about money regardless. But it was about her - Sam. It was always about her.

"Your mother loved you so much," Jeremy's voice quivered a little, his face not leaving his hand. "She loved you so, so much. She would've done anything just to see a smile on your face."

"I know," Sam nodded while wiping a tear that had somehow escaped her right eye.

"If she were here... she wouldn't want someone as awful as Teresa in our life, you know?"

"Yeah."

"That's why I've come to bring you some good news."

Sam stopped and sat up, craning her neck to look directly at him. That's when he brought his face to level with hers.

She raised an eyebrow. "Good news?"

His face was unsure. It was like half of him was happy and the other half of him was devastated. "Good... and bad."

Sam closed her eyes and took a slow breath in and, when she was ready, she simply asked: "What's the good news?"

"Teresa and I are breaking it off."

She smiled and gave a little chuckle. It was the very moment she had been waiting for - those words that came out of his mouth were music to Sam's ears. Finally, after years of her step-mother's bullshit, they were leaving her in the dust.

That's when she remembered - her father said he also had bad news, and her face quickly grew grim.

"Wait," she started, "what's the bad news?"

Jeremy looked down. It was clear he didn't want to tell her, but she left him no choice and no excuse to say no.

"Dad?"

He gazed into her amethyst eyes once more before he confessed: "We have to move out of state, possibly out of the country, and... and I don't think we'll ever be able to come back."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Danny<strong>_

This was the last straw. Danny couldn't wait any much more longer. He had been pacing around his room for the longest time, thinking of a strategy - a way that he could handle this. He came up with nothing of course. It had gotten so bad to the point where Danny had dropped all common sense and basically said, "screw it."

He had to see his love. It was literally killing him.

So he had stood before his bedroom window, gazing at the stars in the sky above, the moonlight bathing his bedroom in a beautiful satin white. He went ghost and phased out, flying towards Sam's house in haste, and all through the way, he had thought how life would be with a woman as beautiful as her. A happy marriage, a good career life... a gorgeous family.

He had hoped that he could have a life like that with her. He would be so ecstatic to have children with Sam. To take her on their wedding night, and to have her be his first as well. To have both of them die together on their death-bed while holding hands.

But first, he had to repair the present before he could arrange the events of the future.

He saw Sam's house down below, and he lowered down towards her bedroom window. He sneakily peeked in, and there, by Sam's bed, pacing back and forth, was the teenage girl. She looked upset, and no doubt it was because of him. He hadn't blamed her - he was the worst boyfriend ever.

But he couldn't keep avoiding this as if it never happened, as if none of this ever happened, and neither could she. They can't pretend that the past didn't happen when it had affected them so much. They had no choice but to confront each other here and now.

It had to start with Danny.

And when he saw Sam stop, her right side facing him, her face towards the wall, a hand on her forehead, he took it as a sign.

And with that, he softly knocked at the window.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sam<strong>_

"Moving... out of state? Or... or the country?" Sam repeated her father's words in shock. They were numb playing over her lips, and her brain couldn't register them.

Jeremy gave an unfortunate nod. "Yes."

"But... but we can't!"

"We have to. Teresa took our marriage documents to court and pled a forged signature. The funny thing? The judge is her great uncle and her lawyer is her childhood best friend. If they have a close relationship like that with Teresa, she can get away with just about anything."

"So what if she pled a forged signature? What does that mean for us? I mean, why does that mean we have to move?!"

"The prenuptial agreement was to stop her from winning any of our possessions and money over if we were to split-up. With that not in effect... it's winner takes all."

"Dad," she shook her head, beginning to cry, "she can't do this. She can't get away with this!"

"She can, and she will. I'm so sorry, Sammy. I'm just as horrified as you are."

He rose to his feet, with Sam's eyes leaving his form and gazing at the wooden floor below. Her thoughts were scrambled, like a looped film playing over over in her head. Jeremy started towards her bedroom door and took the doorknob into his songs, prying the door open and before he exited the room, he left his daughter with some final words: "Get some sleep, okay? I know that's it's Saturday night, but you've been through a lot tonight. I can't have you too exhausted for school on Monday."

With that he left and shut the door behind him.

Sam was lost beyond belief. It was just her, the darkness, her thoughts and her feelings, all having an intervention in her head. Sitting there like a doll and looking at the floor threw off even more. So when she decided she could no longer stabilize herself in such a position, she absent-mindedly stood up, like her brain was on auto-pilot, and began to pace to and fro.

What was she going to do? This house had so many memories! It couldn't just be left behind like this! There had to have been a way to bend the rules, and to do it without suspicion. There had to be a way to liquidate Teresa's plan.

Wait...

Sam then got an idea.

She recalled watching a few crime shows and law enforcement shows saying that in situations like this, when one spouse was forced to leave everything behind, especially a residential estate, they didn't have to do that if they had a good reason not to, and it had to be good.

Like welfare.

Of course! If there was a baby or a young child in the picture, or any minor that wasn't emancipated for that matter, they didn't have to give up their house or their possessions!

But how could Sam get into Teresa's final hearing without being turned down...?

That's when her thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a light sound at her window.

* * *

><p>Sam peered out her window and saw a green-eyed ghost dressed in a black and whitesilver jumpsuit floating outside of it, waving at her as he smiled politely.

The awkward thing was, Sam completely forgot all of the issues she had with the man before him. As a matter of fact, she was actually relieved to see him.

And when her brain registered who it was, she bursted into tears and started reaching towards him. He quickly phased through and changed back into his human form right before she ran straight into his arms, hugging him around the neck and burying her face in his shirt. He cradled her in his arms, pushing her and calmly trying to get her attention.

"Sammy, are you okay? Did something happen while I was gone?"

"She... and... now... I - I... I can't..." she struggled to properly form a good enough sentence structure for her words to make sense.

"Easy Sam, easy," he cooed as he stroked her hair. "Calm down, okay?"

She tried to stop, she really did. But it was so hard. She felt as if her heart would burst any second then and there. Her tears wouldn't stop coming, and the more she concentrated on trying to get them to, the harder she wept.

Danny was really worried. Whatever happened must've been really bad to cause her to act up like this. He had to figure out what was wrong.

And he would, even if it took his last breath away.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: LOWER YOUR TORCHES AND PITCHFORKS! IT'LL GET BETTER! :D**

**Right then, so this is the second part to chapter 9. I hope you guys liked it! I'll be back soon, okay?**

**So, as of last time I was here, we hit the new year of 2014! Whoop whoop! Happy New Year guys! I hope it's good for you!**

**Question of the Chapter!**

_"What would you say was the best thing that came of 2013?"_

**For me, it was The Last of Us and BEYOND: Two Souls. Those two games are AMAZING.**

**Anyway, feel free to vent in the reviews section. ;-; I know I'm a bad person. Don't kill me.**

**PleaseR&R,**

**Vivalandra**


	11. The First

**A/N: Hello everyone!**

**I'm back and finally I have some room to clear some things up. **

**First of all, Easter just passed, so Happy Late Easter! I hope it was pleasant and I hope that you got to enjoy some nice family time! I sure did.**

**Second of all, I have decided to start writing more stories something other than DP. I do it because I'm good at it, yes, but I also have other fandoms. I'm thinking of creating The Walking Dead fanfics (one for the AMC series AND the game as well), one for Kim Possible, and also for Kuroshitsuji, BEYOND: Two Souls, The Last of Us, and more.**

**I think you guys will like it!**

**I'm at school surrounded by gossip. -.-**

**And I'm sorry I've been on hiatus! I know for a fact I'll do it again, so I'll save the excuses. But I hope most of you are still along with me in the story! This chapter will be make up for my absence.**

**Also, thank you to the few reviewers who dropped by this story to leave a comment. That means a lot.**

**Here we go!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11: <strong>The First

Sam had been crying for an hour straight and hasn't even been able to form two words. Every time she tried to speak, her breath hitched in her throat and she began gasping before moaning another strangled sob. It had almost been as if they weren't just fighting hours ago. Almost.

But whatever happened to Sam was serious. She told Danny herself - she wasn't one to cry. Even when her mother passed away and she was surrounded by many mourning souls, family and friends alike, she didn't shed a tear. Maybe it was because it just didn't hit her then; maybe it was because she didn't think much of her mother then, he didn't know. Sam never established it, and Danny didn't expect her to.

But this... this was different.

Something had happened that may just as well be a turning point in her life, and judging by Sam's emotionally crippled form, it wasn't a good road to turn onto.

Danny rubbed her back and hushed her quietly, going in small little circles. She sniffed perpetually until she swallowed harshly and looked up, her bloodshot eyes glimmering in the moonlight. Had it not been for her tears, Danny would've thought them beautiful. But right now all he could see was pain, not beauty or divine perfection, like what he normally saw, but just pain. Suffering. Hurt.

"Now," he started, crowing his neck as her face aimed downward toward her thighs, refusing to look up any further, "tell me what happened."

Sam brought her hands up to hug herself, her palms enclosed around her biceps.

His eyebrows furrowed. "Do you not want to talk about it?"

She shook her head, sniffing again and she took a deep breath through her mouth. With a hoarse voice, she whispered, "No. I'm ready."

"Alright. Now what happened? Take your time, alright?"

She took another breath as she cleared her mouth of all the built up mucus from her nasal passage and reluctantly swallowed it before speaking.

"After I came home... my father knocked on my door. He told me he was only here to make sure I was alright after everything that happened between me, him and Teresa, but I thought he was just here to yell at me. I let him come in and he sat beside me. He..." a deep sigh emerged from her lips, "he apologized to me... for marrying her and trying so hard to forget about the past... because he knew that as a result of that he paid less attention to me. He failed to take notice to the fact that _I _was also his past. So if he tried to forget my mother... he'd lose me, as well.

"And then he brought me good news..." she picked her head up, her eyes growing dark as she gazed into his, "but he gave me bad news, too."

Danny turned more toward her, leaning in and taking her hands into his. She gripped them firmly and laced her fingers with his. Sam could feel her heart pounding in her chest - so hard that she felt it would fall into her stomach at any second. She didn't want to tell him, for she knew that if she did, he'd fight to keep her here. There was nothing wrong with a boy showing his girl that he loves her, but Sam couldn't go through with something that wasn't under her jurisdiction. No matter how much she'd plan to cry and beg to the judge, to Teresa, or to her _own blood, _their fate would be inevitable unless Sam could figure out a loophole, and there's no guarantee it would even work.

But Danny deserved to know. If he wakes up one day and finds his girlfriend doesn't answer the door, doesn't come to the window and her bedroom is as empty as a desert...

He deserved to know.

He deserved to know why.

Knowing this, Sam pushed herself to continue.

"The good news is that my dad is divorcing Teresa. We no longer have to live with her... to deal with her... we'll be free. Free to do whatever we want."

Danny gave a wide grin big enough to stretch from ear to ear.

"Sam, that's perfect! That's amazing!"

At his tone of voice, her heart began to squeeze.

"The ba..." she grew teary-eyed once more. She decided to temporarily beat around the bush to gather her wits. She unlaced her fingers and rose from her bed, glancing over at a picture in a frame sitting upon her dresser before going to it and picking it up. In the onset of this, Danny began to stand as well, only to be stopped by Sam, who had immediately sensed it.

"I'd sit back down, if I were you. It'd probably be best."

And Danny did what he was told.

"This morning, Teresa had stopped by the courthouse and spoke to the judge. She would've brought the prenuptial agreement with her, had she not burned it, so they pulled it up on her marriage record."

She wiped off the gathered dust-bunnies that rested upon the glass of the frame, and she studied the picture within it, a red-haired woman on the left, a blond-haired man on the right, and in both of their hands sat a young toddler with raven hair and amethyst eyes.

"She pled a forged signature - said that my father had _someone else_ sign the agreement on her behalf."

The woman was smiling; the man was grinning; the toddler was laughing. Sam was shivering; Danny was waiting. Her heart began to sink; his mind began to race.

"She got away with it. She's suing my father for everything that he has. Her judge is one of her greatest friends... my dad doesn't stand a chance. And if she wins..."

She set the frame down and turned around. "We have to leave, Danny... for good."

At this, Danny's facial expression drastically changed, going from a flash of concern to pure anger. He started to breathe angrily. His blood began to boil. Sam could swear she saw steam rising from the top of his head.

Sam - moving because of her _step-mother?_ No. There's no way her father would let that happen. No. Way. He was just going to walk away, without putting up a fight?! What kind of man wouldn't fight for something he wants or something that he loves? If there was any way for him to stop this from happening, he needed to do it, and he need to do it _fast._ He absentmindedly touched the tattoo on his arm and new for a fact that the flowers were at the top of the tree, the heads still closed, not yet in bloom. He couldn't let her move away. He couldn't.

He tried to find the right words to say, but he couldn't. This news had just as much of a grip on him as it did on her. Sam was moving away, and there wasn't a thing that he could do about it.

Nothing.

"What?" was all he managed to get out.

"I'm really sorry, Danny," she shook her head, tears rushing down her face. "I don't think I'll be able to stop her… the entire court is most likely going to be in her favor… and my dad is giving up before he even _tries_ because he knows that it's just not worth it."

She stepped forward and took his hands into his.

"I want to say that I'm lying - I really wish I _was…_ but I'm not. I'm so sorry."

Danny's eyes averted to his arm, glancing at his tree, shocked to see that the flowers were already coming to a head. He turned his eyes back to Sam, who was so distraught that she could no longer speak. He couldn't let her words sink in, no matter how long he sat and thought about it. He had worked so hard towards finding the girl that was right for him, and now that he has, she's being ripped apart from him. No… he wouldn't let that happen. Their bond was _too strong_ for one woman to come between them and break them apart. If he was going to do anything to stop this, he had to cut-out Teresa's plan.

They had to think of what to do.

"I won't let this happen, alright?" he spoke to her, pulling her in to where her head was lying against his chest. She tried to focus on the beating of his heart, hoping that it was enough to calm her down. She sniffed a little bit, but the tears still fell ever so silently.

"There's no hope," she whispered, tightening her arms around his back.

"No, there is."

"But…"

"They _legally_ cannot do this. They have to take your word into favor as well."

"They don't _have_ to do anything that involves a kid."

"You're not just a kid. You're _15-years-old._ They can't just treat you like you don't have a say."

"Danny… I need to tell you something."

This made Danny look down towards her, and she lifted her head up. His eyes burned into hers and he brought his hand up to caress her cheek; she swallowed before she continued.

"It's pretty clear that this thing… may not work out the way we want it to, no matter how hard we fight. I'll be gone for good, Danny, and I don't know if it will be just out of state or out of the country. Either way, distance will be a problem, a _big _one… and I want to be committed to you forever."

Sam stood on her tip-toes and began kissing his jaw line, which made him exhale sharply. She took his reaction as a positive remark, and her cue to move down to the sensitive flesh of his skin, right next to his esophagus. Her hands moved from his back down towards his butt. Upon feeling this, Danny grit his teeth as he felt a rush of adrenaline run through his body. He had never felt so relaxed and happy and anxious and nervous and shocked all in one go. The biggest turn on was the fact that _Sam_ was the one showing dominance. And though Sam was a virgin and had not the _slightest_ idea of what she was doing, she could tell that she was doing right based on the stiff feeling that she was beginning to sense against her thigh.

_He likes it. Matter of fact, he loves it._

_I just have to push him a little bit more…_

Danny had had enough. It was frustrating letting her do all of the work.

It's time that he stepped in and took care of business himself.

He placed both of his hands on either side of her cheeks and moved her face away from his neck, placing his lips against hers in return. He realized that he was kissing her the same way he had always kissed her. However, under the circumstances, he knew that this had to change. He knew that this may be one of the last affectionate moments that they may ever have together.

She jumped up so that her legs hooked around his waist, and he turned towards her bed, laying her down on her back. As their kissing prolonged, she reached down towards his sweatpants and began to untie the strings. He stopped abruptly, reaching down at her hands and gripping them sternly. He moved them slightly away, looking at her in near shock. He loved Sam with all of his heart - loved her more than _anything in the world._ He would never purposely do anything to hurt her. He would never do anything to jeopardize her plans of becoming successful in the future. And he knew that deep down, she felt the _exact same way._ But maybe that wasn't an entirely good thing, for it was causing her to do irrational things, like what was going on right now.

He couldn't let her risk anything.

"Sam, wait," he peeked up at her, then shook his head.

"I know what you're going to ask me. You're going to ask me if I'm ready for something so big. You're going to tell me that once my innocence is gone… it's _gone,_ and I can't get it back."

Danny blinked, waiting for her to continue.

"You're going to tell me that things may be different, and that I shouldn't feel the need to rush things."

He nodded, his jaw firm.

"Danny… _I want you._ I want all of you. You're the only one I'll ever date. And…I _do_ trust you. I should've known better when you told me Paulina was lying. She wanted revenge, probably because of the stunt you pulled with Dash earlier. You were right - you would've hid everything from me, but you were so confident, you didn't even lock your phone! I have reasons to trust you and for you to trust me. But most of all… I want to remember you… who you are… what you've done for me. I want you to be the first one to take this from me."

Despite Sam's words, Danny was still hesitant, and he didn't release her hands.

So Sam took upon a new approach - instead of reasoning, she begged.

"_Please,_ Danny. I need all of you. Take me," she turned her hands so that her fingers closed around his wrists and guided them to rest over her breasts. "Take me."

"But… I don't have any protection. I never thought this day would come so quickly. What if…?"

She held a finger to his lips and shushed him. "If I get pregnant… I'll always have a part of you with me. Don't you see, Danny? I don't care."

He nodded and began kissing her again, shivering slightly as he felt his blood pressure rise with pleasure. He was enjoying every second of being so close to her; he could only hope that she felt the same. Sam could care less what anyone would think of her. If her grandmother and her mother were here now, of course they'd be disappointed in her, but they'd give her the burden of empathy. God only knows Sam deserved it. And they couldn't say for one second that they wouldn't understand; Danny was the first, and probably _last,_ person Sam has/may ever love. She could feel her heart swell every time she heard his name, and if that wasn't what love was, then what was?

If distance was the only thing to ruin them, so be it.

Sam had put up a good fight, and she won.

Now it was high time she was eligible to take home her prize.

She began to shake and moan as he began nibbling and sucking at the thin skin of her collarbone, and he was worried that he was hurting her, so he pulled away and searched her eyes for the signal to stop doing what he was doing. Sam nodded, communicating to him that she was fine and what he was doing was okay. And then he continued his task. The same moaning and gasping that he had heard before, and it was the sexiest, most beautiful thing he's ever heard. It made him want to keep going. Added to that, it made him want to _escalate._

As the seconds ticked by, Sam grew more and more impatient, and she began fondling at his strings once more. This time, she managed to get his sweatpants off without any objection from him. They took turns removing layers of garments from each other's bodies, first starting with Sam's shirt, then Danny's, then her cute purple pajama pants decorated with black bats, and so on. When they were completely naked, they took little time fully exploring each other's bodies. They figured they had little time to reach for the goal they wanted to, so they had to act fast.

"Remember," she whispered softly to him as she held him steadily. "I want this."

"It's going to hurt," he replied to her. "Is there anything you want me to do?"

She was biting her lips softly as she pondered at her thoughts, wondering what she could've requested out of the present situation. He was right: it _was_ going to hurt, but pain is something that is inevitable. It can't just be ignored or reasoned with, it has to be dealt with.

"It's a bit more different than sex ed, huh?"

They chuckled a little, and once their laughter died down, Sam leaned up a little bit to where her mouth was lined up next to her ear, and with a heavy heart, she whispered:

"All I ask is that you be gentle with me."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: A little smutty, but not as bad as some of my other stories, that's for sure.**

**So anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, even though it's a bit inappropriate. I tried to keep it as PG-13 as possible, but… whatever. Not too graphic, right?**

**Oh, and Earth Day is coming up, so Question of the Chapter!**

_"What are you doing this year to help the environment?"_

**I think I'll go plant a tree. : )**

**PleaseR&R,**

**Vivalandra**


	12. Skeletons in Closets

**A/N: Hola people of the fandom population! The date I am writing this is 5/13/14 and I'm jumping back on the horse.**

**So… I realize I've lost a lot of reviewers for this story, due to me being on hiatus. I don't mean to be so absent, but I've been jammed packed. I'm finishing up my finals and I'm on the verge of sleep deprivation (actually I think I really am deprived). I'm really trying guys. I hope you can understand.**

**Let's get started on this new chapter!**

**So a little recap of what happened last chapter, Sam finds out that she is moving to a different state (possibly country) due to Teresa pleading a forged signature to a judge, who is her best friend, and her being granted favor for it. Sam breaks down in a sobbing fit when she realizes this means that distance will break her and Danny apart, and they don't want to ever forget what they've done for each other, so they engage in blissful activity (anyone mature knows what this means).**

**That's about it.**

**This is now a jump-cut set about a month or two **_**after**_ **the events of the last chapter, so this is now taking place in about mid-June, so Danny doesn't have long to do what he has to do.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 12: <strong>Skeletons in Closets

_Sam_

Sam was kind of glad that she was no longer in school. She couldn't stand to be there any second longer, knowing that she would no longer walk down those halls and sit in the same classes she had before. She would no longer get to eat lunch and receive dirty looks from Paulina and her squad and threaten Dash the next time he decided to pick a fight with her and Danny. And as she taped up a box that contained some of her belongings she had gathered from her shelf, including the picture of her mother, her father and her, and the picture that was taken of her and Danny sharing a kiss. She froze, glancing at the picture in her hand, a tear shedding as it grazed her soft, pale cheek. She wiped it away with the sleeve of her lavender sweater, tossing the picture frame inside, on top of the pile of the many perfumes she had bagged and set down.

A soft knock on the door grasped her attention, and Jeremy walked in cautiously, his blond hair slicked down with gel. He took a deep breath, rubbing his daughter's back as she continued to nonchalantly stuff her possessions in the cardboard box.

"How are you, sweetie?" he asked her.

"I really don't want to go through with this, Dad," her shiney, amethyst eyes brimming with tears.

"Honey… we have no other choice. We've got to find a new residence before every penny that we have left is gone."

"I can't believe this," she shook her head. "You're letting her get away with this."

"I had no choice. You know better."

"I'm aware."

"Honey… that boy that you've been associating with…"

This made her stop and look up. "Danny?"

He gave a stiff nod. "He's a nice kid… and I like him."

She smiled a little, returning to her activities.

"Samantha… we'll make it through this… the hearing is next month."

"Why so late?"

"They want to find a time where there aren't so many hearings and court dates. Of course the total will never drop to zero, but they'll have more time."

"Right…" she mumbled, turning to face him, her hands on her hips. "Dad… I'm going to get back to work, alright?"

With a swift nod and a slight frown, Jeremy turned to exit the room, and once he was gone, Sam closed her eyes, covering them with her hands, sitting on the bed with her elbows upon her knees.

What was she going to do? There had to have been a way around what was going on. She loved Danny with all of her heart. She needed to figure out a way to stay with him forever. As time and time went on and the date of the mediation came closer, Sam had started formulating a plan, and if she wanted it to work, she had to be very thorough and make sure that it was 100% fool-proof.

Before she had the time to comprehend it, a wave of nausea rushed over her. Her face twisted in disgust and she shot herself up, speed-walking to her bathroom (which turned into a light jog) and just catching herself over the toilet before a portion of vomit burst from her esophagus. As she finished, she coughed and spit up whatever was left of it, sighing as she leaned back. More and more often this has been happening, and at first Sam mistakened it for being nervousness. Now she's convinced it's something much bigger.

It had been a mere four weeks - that's it. What all could happen in four weeks, honestly?

She rose to her feet and flushed the toilet before starting towards the bathroom sink and rinsing out her mouth. Turning off the faucet, she gazed at her reflection in the mirror, deep within her own eyes. The thought should have worried her. After all, she and her father were on the verge of becoming bankrupt. She was about to have no money - not a penny to her name.

She should've been scared.

She should've been downright lost.

But instead…

It made her smile.

She was relieved.

She was happy.

* * *

><p><em>Danny<em>

There were many things that Danny had always worried about growing up. At age five he lost his first baby tooth, and he can remember sobbing uncontrollably because he thought that he would never be able to eat again. He thought that _all _of his teeth would fall out and that they'd _never _grow back. Until his mother and father explained that it was a natural part of life - losing all of your baby teeth. And they promised that his teeth would grow back once more, but this time they'd be _stronger. _

Or the time that he fell headfirst off of the monkey bars and cracked his skull open just a tad at the age of eight. He didn't remember the day all too well (the doctor said this was normal), but he never forgot the fear that he was going to die. But in the end he turned out fine. He recovered miraculously and was out playing at the playground again a little over two weeks afterwards.

Or the time that he was learning how to do a backflip at age ten and, in the process, panicked and landed on his right arm, breaking it into a more oddly-shaped form. He was sedated so that the doctors could snap it back into place, and he wore a cast for a little while until full recovery. He thought that it would never work the same way ever again - that that arm would always be too damaged to grow stronger or to ever be of any use to him for the rest of his life. But he was back again after that, flipping on the trampoline, off of small boulders and anything you could imagine. And his arm was good as new. He could do the same as he had always done before.

To him, trauma was just a way of conquering your fears, making you stronger, more powerful, more courageous.

Even emotional pain, he believed, in the end would make you reconcile.

That was, until Sam broke the news.

Leaving? For good?

Leaving the _state?_

Leaving the _country?_

Nothing was going to fix that. Nothing would ever make him recover from that.

Not even falling in love again.

Not even learning to live without her.

He couldn't get it out of his head. He struggled finding the will to sleep - those summer nights dragging on to be longer and longer. He barely had the mental capacity to shave anymore, and his face was now surrounded in scruff.

Hours turned into days.

Days turned into weeks.

And before both Sam and Danny realized it, it was already a month and a half after their small intervention.

Sam had attempted to contact Danny continuously, sending him texts, asking if he was OK...

But Danny knew better.

He refused to spit out a cliché - to say that he was fine and that he was going to be from then on out. Not only would he be lying, but every time he told her that, he'd think up some stupid idea about interfering with the mediation and trying to somehow get her to stay. And he knew this was pointless. Any idea they had probably wouldn't work. They both knew that.

Part of him was angry. How could Teresa get away with that? It was wrong beyond belief! Just because the judge is her friend...

How come every time he got close to someone -?!

But then he realized something...

He recalled in one of the discussions between him and Sam... something that she said...

_"Every time I get really close to someone... they get taken away from me. My grandma, my mom... I can't lose you... so I can't say those three words."_

Those three words...

I love you.

Those three words?

Danny couldn't even _count on his fingers _how many times he's told her that.

_"Every time I get really close to someone... they get taken away from me."_

What else did she say? He had to remember every detail! It could help him a lot.

She said one more thing.

One more...

_"I feel like it's a curse."_

_"I feel like it's a curse."_

_"A curse..."_

A curse...

And then it finally hit him!

That's it! A curse!

He immediately rose from his bed and looked down towards his right arm, watching the tree move slightly as if an imaginary breeze were shaking its branches. His eyes darted towards the other side of the room as he called out,

"Zonda, I need you here and now."

With a thick black cloud that had taken up a wide portion of the bedroom corner, a figure began to bleed through, and as the smoke cleared, he saw the girl he had called upon before.

"What is it now?" She asked with a tired moan and a roll of her eyes. "I was busy cooking up a love potion."

"Why does Sam have a curse casted upon her?"

Zonda froze for a quick second before shaking her head slightly and quietly uttering, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't bullshit me, Zonda," Danny spat. "You and I both know that you and your family are the only people in this town capable of doing stuff like this -" he pointed to his face as an example.

Zonda smirked slightly and shrugged. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"Zonda... you better start talking. Right. Now."

She sighed dramatically, her eyes shifting from left to right at the ground, then planted a second on Danny's bed. She crossed her arms, taking a deep breath.

"About 3000 years ago, back when they still did the witch trials... my ancestor, Rosalie Everson, was the town witch... but not the bad kind that brought shit to everyone. The town was here, in this backwater city, before years and years of settlement and renovation. The Manson family, of course belonging to Sam, occupied this town as well. And the Manson family was along Sam's paternal family, which is where Sam's last name came from."

"I thought that was her mother's name," Danny stated confused.

Zonda shook her head. "Her father's."

She shifted a little, and Danny took a seat by her side, more intrigued than ever with where the story was headed.

She continued: "Anyway... the Manson's, like all the townspeople, were paranoid that Rosalie would do something to them. So it was their idea to hunt her down and set her up for a trial. As she was burning alive, she casted a hex on the Manson family that the first born daughter of their blood would find happiness, only for it to be replaced with misery.

"Years had gone on and on. The Manson's bore a son, who grew up and got married, only to have another son...who had another son... _who had another son. _Finally, after forever," she turned to look Danny in the eyes, "a daughter was born."

"Sam..." Danny caught on.

Zonda gave a nod. "You understand why I'm so nice to her?"

"But that doesn't make any sense," Danny questioned. "Why did it have to be the first born _girl?"_

"Boys were too common in the Manson family to be the gender to pick on," Zonda sighed. "Added to that, girls are more likely to cave under emotional trauma, more prone to broken hearts, than boys."

It took Danny a while to sink everything in, but on his own he struggled.

"Let me get this straight: the loss of her grandmother-"

"Got too close to her. She passed on to the other side - cancer."

"And her mother-"

"Murdered when she was merely a child."

"And now… now-"

"It's you," Zonda finished with a faint smile. "The only person she has left is you."

"What about her father? She loves him with all of her heart - how come he's not dead?"

"The hex cannot affect that of which shares the same blood as the hex itself."

Danny shook his head. "Dumb it down for me."

Zonda rolled her eyes, mumbled "foolish boy" before speaking up: "The hex was not made to work _against _the Manson blood, it was made to _taint _it. The hex cannot kill the one thing it was designed to technically protect. Not to mention the hex is not applied to the male sex."

"So if Sam were to develop a close bond with her father, technically he can't be harmed because of it…"

"Whereas if she were to develop a close bond with you…" Zonda's words trailed off before she fell into a complete silence. She changed the topic immediately. "Whether or not she was aware of the past… she somehow knew that something was wrong."

Danny took a deep breath, trying to give himself a more visual view of everything. He wanted to be with Sam - he loved her with every fiber of his being… but in doing so, it would eventually cost him his life. Could he really do something like that? Be with her for as long as he could, even if in the end it would end up hurting her again?

There had to be something else. Anything else!

"Zonda," he started, "I need you to remove the curse."

"I was afraid you were going to say that…" she winced slightly as if to expect a harsh reaction from what she was to say next. With dainty eyes, she gazed into his blue ones, fear gathering as she whispers, "I can't."

Anger began to show within him. "Why can't you?"

She sighed. "It's an ancient spell. The ritual is lost within the mind of Rosalie. Nobody knew it but her, and her failure to mark it down elsewhere resulted in her prosperity's lack of knowledge. The only way she can free herself from her curse is if she breaks it herself."

"But _how_ does she break it?! How?!"

Zonda grasps his hand and encloses it within hers, smiling. "That's the good news."

She gave it a small shake and turned, walking back towards the corner that she had come from. With a small tilt of her head off to the side, peeking over her right shoulder, she finished with:

"She already has."

And then she was gone, the same cloud of black smoke circulating the corner and then slowly wearing away, showing that she had disappeared.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Okay guys! I'm at school, so I'm out!**

**Question of the Chapter!**

_"Do you think love is more of a chemical or an emotion?"_

**PleaseR&R,**

**Vivalandra**


	13. Walk in the Rain

**A/N: Hello! What a beautiful day today! I say that because I'm almost done with my freshmen year of high school, and honestly, it's been kind of dry. I didn't like it to start off with - then came the middle of the year and I was so-so with that, and now that the end has come around, I'm back to not liking it. I know college won't be anymore fun, however, and I'm trying to get my PhD. *sigh* I will never understand the point of constant test-taking.**

**So the date is 5/30/14 and I'm continuing "Behind the Looks" for Chapter 13!**

**RECAP: Basically, Sam is packing up some (not all) of her stuff so that way in case they actually don't end up winning the court mediation thing at the hearing, they have at least a little head-start beforehand. Her dad tells her in a small conversation that he's going to try his hardest to win, but it wasn't guaranteed, and Sam admitted to already coming to terms with that. After that, he leaves, and Sam feels nauseous, dashing to the toilet and vomiting. In her POV, she explains that this isn't the first time this has happened and that the same cycle has been repeating over and over again ever since the incident with Danny coming up to her bedroom about a month or two before. The result of this is the possibility of being pregnant, and though this should make Sam scared (because she's **_**literally **_**about to have ZERO DOLLARS), it makes her relieved and happy.**

**Meanwhile, Danny calls upon Zonda and asks her why everytime Sam gets close to someone, they end up dying. She reveals that a couple centuries back, her ancestor had a rivalry with Sam's paternal ancestors. They were paranoid that Zonda's ancestor, the town witch, would become a danger to the rest of the settlement, so they burned her during a trial. As she died, she released a curse upon the Manson blood that the first born daughter in the family would "find happiness, only for it to be replaced with misery" (what does that sound like to you?). Danny begs Zonda to free Sam of her curse, but Zonda says that the curse is so ancient, it's practically lost in the past, and there's nothing Zonda can do about it if she doesn't have the incantation. But she replaces this with good news, informing Danny that an incantation to lift her curse is not necessary, because she has already broken it.**

**And what will happen now?**

**Well, let's find out!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 13: <strong>Walk in the Rain

_Sam_

If she had to describe her mood in one word… actually, that's just it - she couldn't describe her mood in one word. Well… maybe that's not entirely true. Maybe _sneaky? _ That could be classified as an adjective, right? Does it vary?

She was sneaky because of her secret. She knew it, but as far as she was aware, no one else did. The prolonged vomiting should've been the number one warning, and Sam wasn't stupid - she had taken it to heart, but gave it the cold shoulder all at the same time. But when due time came for her cycle to start, she had waited… and waited… and waited… and waited. Nothing happened - not even the daintiest hint of spotting. Sam, again, passed it off as another excuse. Stress? Yeah, that was it. But no amount of massages, yoga, decent hours worth of sleep, healthy vegetarian food and so on, was able to "ease her burden" and never made it so that her body was "calm enough" for her cycle to finally begin.

She realized that, also… she was so damn angry all the time. When she thought of her father, she would imagine nothing but bitter ends. Why was he stupid enough to marry someone like her? Why was he stupid enough to get married _again?_ Wasn't losing Pamela (Sam's mother) enough that he had learned that love would only catch him in another bind?

Then she'd think of Teresa and could swear that she could ring her neck. Like, literally - if Teresa were to march right into her bedroom at the very moment, cigarette in the right hand, alcohol in the left - her native look - and if she had done anything to disturb the peace and the silence that Sam had often sought in the privacy of her own solitude… she could slit her throat with her own fingernails. She could smash her face against the wall. She could do so many things to her that aren't worth mentioning because it would label Sam a sociopath, and therefore would ship her off to a sanitarium, where men in white suits would restrain her with sedatives and straitjackets and one therapist after another would try to "get her to admit she has a problem".

No.

Her only problem was the one woman.

A woman so bad, Sam would rather have gotten bit by a venomous snake than to spend the rest of her life living with her.

That woman was Teresa.

And she was a problem.

And like all problems, until they've been established and until they are dealt with, they will do nothing but hold you back - make you lose what's left of your sanity.

Once Teresa was out of the picture, there would _be_ no crazy Sam.

But no - here crazy, sneaky Sam is, stashing early motherhood books and magazines beneath her bed, where she had kept a lot of her deep, dark secrets.

Where she kept her journal - wrote about her feelings after her mother had passed.

And not even that - where she had marked down both her lies and her white lies.

Like the one she had told to Danny.

Dash didn't just _attempt_ to sexually harass Sam, he actually _did_. He _tried,_ and he _succeeded._

He cornered her just as she was starting out the side of the school, where she had always gone, because she _thought she knew for sure_ nobody else had taken that route.

She was wrong.

Dash did more than just tried.

He placed his hands on her breasts, the cheeks of her butt, the sensitive skin of her legs near her pelvis… even though she desperately wanted to, she didn't even try to fight.

He kissed and nibbled and licked at her neck, whispering with huskiness in his voice that he wanted her, and that he knew she wanted him to. Oh yeah, she could feel that _he_ wanted _her,_ alright, judging by the stiffening feeling that was grazing softly against her thigh. She had taken that as her proper time to knee him in the groin and, once he had keeled over, run as fast and as hard as she possibly could. It wasn't rape, she knew this - it could've been worse. But she'd be damned if she'd let it go that far if there was _something_ that she could do about it.

Good thing it wasn't rape, either, or else it would've been possible for her to be pregnant with Dash's child. If she thought that Dash just _looking at_ and _touching_ Sam would push Danny over the edge, imagine what conception from rape would do to him? He'd be an unstoppable hulk, and _no one _would've been able to pull him off that day.

And that story was set in stone of a book with dark secrets,

With other kinds of dark secrets,

In a place with dark secrets.

Every time she'd spot her dad knocking on the door, she'd quickly hurl the book vigorously under the bed and pull out a novel from within her nightstand drawer, leaning back comfortably against her propped up pillow, opening the book up to a random page, and mumbling a quick "come in" as she had hastily gotten into character.

Her dad never saw her about much anymore. It was all mostly just to check on her - to see how her packing was going and if she was ready to go through with this.

Of course she'd always given in the same answers: "Packing's fine." "No, I'm not ready to go through with this, but last I checked, I didn't have a choice."

His eyes would just fall to the floor and, with a quick nod, he would return back to the outside world, shutting Sam's door, leaving her to once again surround herself in complete solitude.

Maybe that's how she'd stay from now on.

In complete solitude.

* * *

><p><em>Danny<em>

Now he didn't know if Sam knew anything about Zonda's ancestor ever associating with Sam's paternal ancestors, but for some reason he felt that it was immediately worth mentioning to her, even if she did find it hard to believe. At least she'd know the truth, as Danny had known himself. Danny knew something was wrong from the moment he had first kissed her; Sam's always known something was wrong with her life once she started losing everyone she'd gotten close to. It's almost as if she knew _of_ the curse, but not how it had been brought upon her. Regardless, this was important.

He needed to get to her, but a promise was a promise.

The morning that they had awoken from their intimate night, they saw what circumstance they were in, and were nearly so embarrassed they could hardly speak. But that was before they recalled _why_ they did it - Sam was moving away for what might have been the rest of her life until she was of legal age to do whatever she wanted to, and by then she'd be launching off to be who she wanted to be all through adulthood until retirement, which meant college and finances to worry for. What was the guarantee that she would even come back? About as much of one as Danny ever getting the opportunity to go see _her._

They made an oath and swore to each other that they wouldn't break it: after that night, they break off _all_ contact. It was a crazy idea - as crazy as could be. But Sam and Danny agreed (and found it much easier) if they broke off all contact, it would be easy to get over each other. After all, you can long to see a stranger once they move away, right? That's like missing something you never even had.

They were stupid, but a good kind of stupid.

They knew they couldn't forget each other even if they tried.

And try, they did.

But Danny had to do this.

And as he flew up to her window and gave a gradual knock, he knew it was now or never.

She had broken the curse, as Zonda had told him.

That means they still had a chance.

* * *

><p><em>Sam<em>

Just - literally _just _- as her father shut the door to her bedroom and made his way down the hallway to the staircase leading to the lower level of the mansion, there was a dainty knock on Sam's bedroom window. Her eye snapped up, gazing at the set of curtains before her, her eyebrow raising in puzzlement.

There was only one person who did that: Danny.

And he made a promise.

What would he be doing here - breaking that promise?

She closed the novel that she was pretending to read (_Bitter End _by Jennifer Brown) and made her way to the window, moving the right lavender curtain as close to the end of the rod as it could go without the fabric overlapping, and lifted the window up. Danny's, in ghost form, was smiling faintly, waving a little at her. She had a grim face, her lips pursed, as if preparing to scold a dog for committing a bad deed. Danny knew why this face was plastered on her, and he gave a swift nod.

"I just need to talk to you."

"You made a promise," her arms crossing. Both of them could hear the edge in her voice.

"I did," he agreed innocently.

"And you're breaking it."

"I know."

Sam shook her head like to say she was disappointed in him, but he retaliated.

"Sam, we had sex. You can't avoid me forever."

She smacked her lips as she stepped off to the side, and he flew in, changing into his human form as he landed softly on two feet. She sighed as she sat on the bed. She wanted to be mad at him, but she couldn't. He may have broken the promise that they'd made to each other, but Sam was doing something even worse:

She was hiding a secret - something _big._

"Remember some time ago when you told me you couldn't tell me that you loved me because you felt like it was some kind of a curse?" He jumped right into explanation without wasting a second.

Sam nodded.

"Well… here's the irony: that actually is - well, _was_ - a curse."

Sam leaned in, elbows on her knees, intrigued with where the conversation stood. The one thing interested her more than 'it being a curse' was the fact that it _was_ curse… as if she did something to break it already.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, shaking her head left and right.

"Zonda, the one that did this-" he pointed to his face. "to me? She told me about the _real_ reason as to why you keep losing your loved ones. It was a family secret."

"A family secret?"

"Your dad's ancestors knew Zonda's ancestor back in like the 15-1600s when they still did the Witch Trials. She was the town witch here, in Amity Park. The Manson's, your father's family, grew paranoid that she would do something to them, so they hunted her down and tied her to a post before burning her with a stake. She put a hex on your blood as she was slowly dying, and told them that the first born daughter in their family would 'gain happiness, only for it to be replaced with misery'."

"Oh man…"

"You lost your grandmother, your mother… and you could've lost me."

Sam rose to her feet and began biting her thumb nervously.

"So I asked her," Danny continued, "how do we break the curse? There had to be some way for you to live out the rest of your life without this tainting your blood. And she told me that…"

Sam's eyes fell upon his. "What?"

He peered up slowly from the glance he brought to the floor. "She told me that you already did."

Sam took a deep breath, her eyes welling up in tears. Zonda was onto her, and it was only a matter of time before her secret could no longer remain bottled up. She never wanted to tell Danny because: A.) Danny was still in high school, and he _barely_ was able to pass some of his classes for the year. B.) _Because_ of high school, Danny had most of his problems settled there, with his academics. Plus, his homestyle could have been nearly just as stressful. How could he cope with paying for a child he may not have even gotten to see? He couldn't! He would have to balance out his parents, his job and finances to send to Sam for their child… there was no way! Danny would barely want to associate with her again.

"Do you know what she's talking about?" he cocked his head off to the left a little.

"I…" she started before swallowing hard and whispering, "yes."

"Sam… are you alright? What's the matter?" He touched her shoulders, gripping them ever so gently, and Sam would cave in, her sobs growing increasingly as she lowered her head into his chest.

"I'm so awful… I s-shouldn't have… made you…"

"Sam?"

"I'm horrible."

"Sam," he brought her upward again to look into her face again. "Sam, tell me what's wrong."

"I," she started, tears streaming down her face like the current of a river made the water flow. "I can't."

"Sam, tell me, or I'm leaving."

"No, no, no-!"

"Then _what's wrong?"_

Danny wasn't one to persuade someone through peer pressure and ultimatums, but he didn't have a choice. If there was something that was involving Danny and her, he _had_ to know. Two can keep a secret if both of them are trustworthy.

He began to scan and evaluate all possibilities within his mind: did she have some sort of STD? No way. Sam was a virgin; he knew that when he slept with her because of how narrow and tight she was. But some STDs you're born with, like AIDS. No, because Sam would've told him from right off the bat that they couldn't sleep together because of it. She wouldn't trick him like that. That wasn't like her.

He tried to remember exactly what Sam had said before they did what they did:

"_Sam, wait," he peeked up at her, then shook his head._

"_I know what you're going to ask me. You're going to ask me if I'm ready for something so big. You're going to tell me that once my innocence is gone… it's __**gone,**__ and I can't get it back."_

Fast forward.

" _[...] But most of all… I want to remember you… who you are… what you've done for me. I want you to be the first one to take this from me."_

Fast forward.

"_But… I don't have any protection. I never thought this day would come so quickly. What if…?"_

_She held a finger to his lips and shushed him. "If I get pregnant… I'll always have a part of you with me. Don't you see, Danny? I don't care."_

The ball of mentality came smacking him in the face so hard he thought he would pass out.

_Is she…? Is Sam…?_

His eyes widened in surprise, his mouth agape, caught between cold sweats and heated skin. His mind was floating in his memory as he tried to root a connection between that and the present. There was no way - the first time through? Had the odds been that great?

"You're pregnant… aren't you?" He came out finally, and Sam stepped back, her shoulders slouching, her knees beginning to shake. He was hoping that, even if there was the slimmest chance, she'd still say no. He hoped that it wasn't true, even though all evidence did point towards it.

With a quivering lip, she whispered so softly that God Himself couldn't hear, "yes."

His breathing had gone from calm to rapid, and his heart began beating faster and faster. He thought it would exhaust itself and eventually stop. He ran a shaking hand through his hair, growing paler and paler by the second, trying to let everything sink in. She was moving away, her and their child - Sam was supposed to take care of it on her own? Raise it and feed it… all on her own? And how would her father react and… oh for the love of God, if Danny's parents found out…

She was fifteen! There's no way she could be a single-parent!

"I'm so sorry, Danny… I should've listened to you. I was so stupid to even do this…"

He never said anything. He just moved around, lost and panicked and confused, like a headless chicken.

_Why is he just moving around like that?!_

"Danny… I'm so sorry… I-I can't… I can't do this by myself. My dad will be _so pissed _if he finds out - _I can't let him find out!_ What about schooling?! I'll have to drop out and I'll have to get a job and I just can't-!"

"Oh, Sam," Danny whispered, grasping his hands into his. "This is all my fault-"

"Don't even start that shit, Danny, because you know that's not true. _I_ pushed _you_ into going through with it."

"Do you want me to be there with you?"

"I mean… yes. I _want_ you there… but I won't get mad if you aren't."

They spent so long contemplating their plans together, taking ideas from their heads and placing them on the table. They knew they should've thought things through. They didn't know if their parents would be happy for them or disappointed- relaxed or appalled- at ease or frustrated. Maybe their parents didn't ever have to even know. Or, rather, _Danny's_ parents didn't ever have to know.

As bad as this sounded- and Danny knew it sounded bad- Danny could just walk away and nobody would have to know that he had something to do with it. He didn't have to have the responsibility of being a parent- of paying child support or being with the child every step of the way. He didn't have to take trips down to wherever Sam moves to and back, just to maintain a stable environment that this child was being raised in. He didn't have to be around _or_ be involved _or_ participate as the father whatsoever. No regrets from him- just say bye-bye.

Like Mikey's father. Mikey was an ultra-nerd that attended high school with them. This guy was the ultimate brainiac- so smart that he could solve a Rubix cube in a matter of a minute and half. He was in band, which was a plus, and he had a 4.0 GPA. His mother was proud of him in every way a mother could be proud. He didn't have a girlfriend, but he knew (and everyone knew) he didn't even need one. He was just as smart as Sam- just the opposite sex as her and Sam wasn't too fond of playing an instrument, with the exception of the piano, of course.

Problem was, Mikey had some _serious_ Daddy issues. Ever since day one, his father stepped out. Not "day one" as in Mikey's delivery, but "day one" as in the very day his father found out his mother was pregnant with him. Since then, he never even bothered to look back. He just gave her the cold shoulder, and the worst part was that she _allowed_ it. He didn't have to stick around, so he figured why should he? He left her to raise him all on her own, and would you look at that? Kid was reading _Moby Dick_ at age seven.

But underneath the skin, it wasn't right, and they all knew that. Even though Mikey was exceptionally gifted and talented in every way you can be- even though he would one day go to greater heights and bigger places, it still wasn't right. He often asked about his dad, to which his mother would shrug, and she wasn't a bad person for doing that. Who would want to hear something like, "Oh, your father? Yeah, he stepped out because he hated you since he found out you were in my tummy and he wanted absolutely nothing to do with you. He wanted to be a free man and go about life as he pleased, without a single responsibility. Sorry kid."

And when you put it that way, you mind as well leave it as a shrug.

And Star, one of the girls on the cheerleading squad at their school, didn't have her father either. He was gone at age six- the pig cheated on Star's mom and got another girl pregnant around the same time her mother conceived, so he had to pick and choose. For _six years,_ he bounced back and forth from one family to the other, and eventually, he ended up with another girl, and this left Star's mother heartbroken. She had almost considered an abortion- _almost._ But she held her head high and knew she didn't need him around. She could do just fine on the other side of the grapevine and that Star's father could go to Hell, for all she cared.

And as she grew older, she maintained good grades as well. And as much as Sam hated every girl on the squad, she had to admit that making it on there _wasn't easy._

So who knew for a fact? If Danny just left Sam to it, maybe there was a chance that their child could end up the same way, a complete brainiac or a super smart cheerleader, destined to achieve great things. In the end, Sam would end up with all the credit, not him.

But one look in her eyes and Danny knew:

Sam couldn't do this on her own.

"I'm so stupid," she cried, bringing her hands up towards her face so that her palms were facing her eyes.

"Shh, Sam... no, no you're not."

Danny wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in close. She snuggled her head closer to his chest, trying to keep back her tears. It took many sniffles and a lot of time to gain what was left of her composure, but she decided to speak up when she could.

"What are we gonna do?"

Again with the "we". Danny wouldn't have any of it. Now that he thought of it, this wasn't a matter of what he didn't want to do, it was a matter of what he couldn't do. He didn't want Sam to get her hopes up if there was no guarantee that he would be _able_ to be around. He figured that no matter what, it didn't hurt to ask. How bad could it have been?

Danny sighed.

"Does your dad have any clue as to where he wants to move?"

"Canada," she whispered. "Canada."

"Where at?"

"Maybe Ontario? Possibly Vancouver? I don't know."

His face grew grim. Canada? That was a long way's away. Even if he wanted to see Sam, he knew it would be hard. He knew that it would be a pain. He would either have to fly there himself, or act normal and take a plane. And if that, how often? Danny had school, soon he'd start driving and everything was just an absolute mess.

This couldn't be happening.

It can't be real!

_Talk about "breaking my curse". Even having sex with her wasn't enough._

_The same rules still apply._

Danny allowed his shoulders, which were at first tense next to his ears, shrug down to a lower height. With a long, dragged breath, he politely muttered, "We'll figure this out together. Don't worry."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Here's a stopping point. I'm sure you guys were expecting some really mushy little "we're having a baby" reaction, but like I said, I like to spice things up a bit.**

**We'll have to see what happens with this story next chapter, which will come out soon, I promise! No more hiatus. My last day of school is tomorrow in the 6th, and I'm gonna get so much accomplished this summer. Including driver's ed. I can't wait to take driver's ed.**

**So, until then, here's a Question of the Chapter!**

"_When you think of the idea of starting a family of your own, what would be the first emotion to come to mind and why?"_

**Maybe this is because I'm only a 15-year-old girl, but the idea of starting a family right now scares me so bad, and I'd prefer not to do it.**

**Anyway, until I come back**

**Please R&R,**

**Vivalandra**


	14. Redemption

**A/N: No special announcements. I'm just going to go straight on with the chapter, because we all know that's what you guys really want.**

**Blah blah blah (disclaimer) blah blah blah**

**On we go!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 14: <strong>Redemption

_Sam_

She couldn't remember the last time she had dressed up so nicely before today. Mind you that "nicely" wasn't referring to a fancy outfit, but rather, referring to anything other than her everyday look. There were no purples leggings or solid black shirt with green stripes or black low-cut tank top with a purple oval in the middle occupying her attire. Instead, there was a black dress with her standard combat boots and her brushed and tended hair tied up in a bun. Scanning over her appearance in the mirror, she ran her palms over her dress, flattening it out and looking over herself. It wasn't precisely anything to wear to a courthouse (more like a funeral), but it was better than walking in and looking like she stepped out of Gothapalooza. She inhaled and exhaled dramatically, eyeing her face in the mirror. She was ready. This was the day, the day she had been waiting for for months.

This was the day that she had the opportunity to make Teresa crash and burn.

She heard a knock at the door and, via the reflection in her mirror, saw it open up slowly. Her dad peeked his face in from the other side.

"Almost ready?"

"I'm more than ready," she responded flatly, her tone of voice making it clear that she was seeking out revenge, and she was confident she wouldn't fail.

"Samantha, I… I don't know about this," Sam watched her father's face shrivel downward into a frown. "Teresa may not allow you into the courtroom. I have to be there, to defend myself."

"She doesn't write the laws, Dad. And she doesn't enforce them." Her eyes averted from his to her dress once more, pinching the shoulders and pulling them up more, moving her hands down to flatten the base out again. "The court can't stop us from appearing, especially me. I'm a witness. She can fight to keep me out all she wants to, but it's not going to happen."

She set her hands to her sides, turning to face him. He was silent, as silent as he could be.

"I'm not going to let her win, Dad. This is my home, where I belong. Where I have already made _something_ of myself. I'm not going to start over just because she wants to ruin everything. For years we've let her stomp us into the ground… and now it's our turn. I'm not afraid of her anymore, and you shouldn't be either."

Jeremy smirked. "I see your mother in you."

Sam's eyes lighten as her brain registers the words that left his mouth. "You… do?"

"I do. You're stubborn, you're pride is over the roof and you've got enough confidence in you that makes you forget that failure exists. And you're all about winning. You've always been about winning."

She nods, allowing him to continue.

"If you feel like you can do it, go for it."

With a smile, Sam shuffles over to him, wrapping her arms around him. "Thanks Dad."

"I've always believe in you, Sam."

They let go, giving each other a smile.

"Oh, and make sure you leave your door open, let the heat circulate. It feels like a freezer in your room," Jeremy warns with a discomforting look on his face. "It must be the A/C. I'm gonna go turn that thing down."

He turns in exits the room, and as Sam hears his feet stepping down the stairs, she grins widely.

"Yep, it's the A/C, alright," she whispers. She watches the wall in front of her highlight a bright white as a brief flash illuminates the room, seeing the shadow of the presence behind her. She feels his breath against her earlobe.

"Can't say that that was a close one."

"No," she replies wittly, "I suppose you can't."

She turns and meets him face to face.

"Alright. So I've been thinking about it all night… I think I know a way to stop Teresa."

She gives him a swift nod. "Okay. Lay it on me."

Danny leans in, almost to whisper her a secret. "We find evidence of what happened."

Sam's face is blank as her eyes scan the floor. "Okay, um… don't you think I would do that if I knew how?"

"Maybe you didn't think it all the way through. I remember when my mom and dad got married, they kept all of their paperwork in some kind of archive, so that way if they ever had to look back on anything, they'd all be in the records."

At first Sam doesn't understand, but as she slowly lets his words sink in, her face lights up.

"That means that there's a copy of the prenuptial agreement on record! We just have to find a way to grab that and a copy of the marriage certificate, show the judge the matched handwriting and then we'll expose Teresa for the liar that she is!"

"Yeah-hah!" Danny cheered.

"And it doesn't matter if the judge is a good friend of hers or not, because she _has_ to obey the law! That means if there's evidence that Teresa is lying, she has to treat it as so! Danny, you're a genius!"

"Aren't I though?" he asked cockily.

"But where are we gonna find all of the information? I don't remember any of the numbers to the businesses my father went through, and I don't think he ever kept them."

Sam stood in place, her finger to her lips. She had to think hard and think fast. If she were married, where would she keep a copy of all of her paperwork at? Then it hit her hard.

_"I want my money," she began in a raspy voice. "You know that I can sue you for fraud, don't you?"_

_"You signed a prenup. That means that if you want a divorce, you get not a dime of my money and not a piece of my furniture."_

_"Where's the documentation of this accusation?" Teresa turned back to him and asked._

_"It's in the safe."_

_"What safe?"_

_Jeremy pointed toward an abnormal section of lining underneath the arm chair. "That safe, the one in the floor underneath the arm chair."_

"Oh my God," Sam whispered. "That's it! Underneath the arm chair downstairs in the living room, there's a hollow spot in the floorboards. Beneath that is a safe. My dad keeps all of the documentations in there! It's a huge manila folder; it's gotta have more information in there!"

"A safe usually means it's locked with a combination. Do you remember what it is?"

"I don't… know. I can't remember. So much happened that night… damn it!"

"It's okay, it's okay," Danny held her by the shoulders. "I've got it covered. Just show me where it's at."

"Danny?" she started curiously.

"Trust me."

Sam shakes her head gently and grabs her right hand, dragging him along behind her. She starts down the stairs slowly, looking left and right, making sure her father isn't anywhere in sight. When she doesn't seem him in the downstairs area, she signals Danny to stay put, jogging the last couple of steps down and stops at the window by the front door, moving some of the cardboard boxes out of the way before peeking out. She sees her father rummaging through the junk in the trunk of his car. She moves her right hand behind her, waving it towards her, and then quickly changing the direction of her gesture by pointing repeatedly towards the living room area.

"The living room's that way. There's only one armchair, and it's right in front of the fireplace. You can't miss it."

"Roger that," Danny responds before moving quickly to the living room.

"I'll keep look-out," she says. She can hear the sound of Danny grunting and the wooden legs scraping against the floor.

"This chair's a bit heavier than it looks."

Sam didn't respond; Danny didn't really expect her to. He just moved the wood from the floor and set it aside, spotting the safe beneath it. "Got it."

Sam sees her father pull out a leather briefcase and shut the trunk door, moving to the driver's side of his car and getting inside. He gives a couple of honks before setting his briefcase in the backseat.

"Danny, double time it!"

"I'm trying, hold on."

Danny turns his arm transparent and sticks it through the door, moving his hand around inside. Sam sees her father waiting patiently in the driver's side. She begins bouncing on the balls of her feet as she makes a slight hissing sound through clenched teeth, similar to when someone shows that they have to use the restroom.

"Danny, come on!"

"Uh… Sam…"

Her head snaps towards him. The color is drained completely from his face.

"Um…"

"Um? Come on Danny, we don't have time for this!"

"The documents are gone."

Sam freezes in place, her eyes widening in horror. "What?!"

"They're not here, Sam. Someone must have taken them."

She gasps, peering at the leather briefcase in the backseat. "Dad!"

"What?"

"My dad has a brown leather briefcase in the backseat! The documents have to be in there!"

"Do you know that for a fact?"

"I sure hope so! The only other option is that Teresa-!"

She halts as they meet their eyes.

"She couldn't have. No… I _know_ my dad has them."

"Okay," Danny mumbles, rising to his feet and pacing a little bit. "Okay." He walks up to Sam and takes her hands in his.

"Okay what?" she mocks in a panicked tone of voice.

"I can't go with you guys. My temperature drops whenever I'm in a certain area for too long. Plan A's trashed; now we move on to B. Go with your dad to the courthouse and I'll meet you there."

"What? No!"

"Sammy, you have to."

"No, I'm not leaving you here! What if you get stuck in battle or something?"

"I will be _fine._ I promise you, I will meet you there and I'll be waiting by the time you show up."

"What about you? What are you going to do in the mean time?"

They hear the sound of Jeremy honking again.

"I'm gonna find Teresa and I'm gonna distract her, make her leave the courtroom so that you guys have a better shot at showing the judge those papers without anyone trying to sabotage it."

"No, Danny, you can't-!"

"Sam, you have to trust me. Okay? Trust me."

Sam pauses, her breath shaky. "I do… I trust you."

"Okay." He gives her a quick peck on the lips. "Now go. Hurry up."

Sam turns around and opens the door, looking at Danny. He gives her a reassuring smile as he transforms and turns intangible, shooting up toward the ceiling. She steps out and shuts the door, jogging down the steps, off of the porch and circles around the car, going to the passenger's side and getting in.

"There you are," he sighs.

"Sorry. I got-" she sees Danny waving at her up above in the morning sky before taking off high speed towards the middle of the city "-held up in something."

Jeremy starts the engine and puts the shift in drive after they buckle their seatbelts, pulling away from the front of the house.

_Oh Danny, please… please be careful._

* * *

><p><em>Danny<em>

_Alright,_ Danny thought as he finally reached the inside of the courthouse, hovering up near the ceiling. _I don't know when the hearing starts, much less which room it's gonna be in, so first I have to find that out. I do that, I'll know where Teresa is, I'll distract her, make her leave, and then make sure it goes smooth sailing._

Danny turns invisible, watching attorneys with briefcases walking to and from rooms a little ways behind him.

_I have to find that room. _

He lowers himself down, scanning plack after plack, searching for the last names of Jeremy and Teresa. Finally, his eyes landed right on it: _Jeremy Manson vs. Teresa Lynn._

_That's it!_

He peers in through the glass door and sees Teresa sitting beside an attorney, waiting patiently for the hearing to take place. The rest of the room is empty of people. The judge isn't sitting at the podium. It's just Teresa and her attorney, sitting side-by-side at the table.

Danny phased into the room cautiously, but after realizing that Teresa and the attorney had shivered slightly, he slowly backed out.

_Oh man. I gotta keep a low profile if I want this to work._

He stopped, putting a finger to his lips.

_Let's see, how can I get Teresa out of the courtroom without causing anyone to get suspicious?_

He pondered for a few seconds and, with the snap of his fingers, his face lit up.

_I got it! I possess her, make her leave the room to go off to the bathroom, and then I lock her in the stall. _Danny shook his head, dismissing it. _No, no, no. Someone's bound to find her eventually, and she could be freed just in time to interrupt the hearing. I have the right concept but… a more unnoticed, uninvaded place… like a custodian's closet. _Danny's eyes widened. _Yeah! A closet! No one would ever think to look in there. It'll have to be in a closed area, a place where sound doesn't travel. And I think I know just where it is. But I'll have to be sneaky, and I'll have to be fast. Sam and her dad will be here any minute now._

Danny flew upward, through the ceiling and passed through into the courtroom from above. He quickly turned intangible and flew right into Teresa's body, which caused her to jerk forward suddenly before snapping back into place. Her attorney eyed her suspiciously.

"Teresa… are you alright?"

Teresa's eyes flashed to a neon green, and she gazed at her attorney, smiling innocently.

"I'm fine. I just, uh… realized I had to use the restroom."

"Oh," the attorney mumbled, her eyes scanning the surface of the desk before her. "Well, hurry back. The hearing will start in a few minutes. The judge should be here soon."

"Will do," Teresa responded, rising to her feet.

"Have your eyes always been that green? They look… inhuman."

"Yeah, well… maybe it's just the lighting in here or something," Teresa shrugs uncertainly before quickly walking down the aisle between the benches and exiting the room. She took a deep breath as she paused.

_Okay. Gotta get downstairs._

Teresa looks left and right before circling around the railing and starting down the stairs. When she reaches the bottom, she sees a security guard down near the entrance door. She carefully sneaks to the back hallway leading to the janitor's closet. As she grips the doorknob, she gives a slight wiggle, only to find that it won't budge.

_Locked… figures. What did I expect? I can't turn someone intangible while possessing them; I have to find a different way of getting this door open. Maybe I can find a bobby pin or a paper clips somewhere._

Her eyes search the floor as she looks around. The entire place is spotless. There isn't even a speck of dust on the floor, much less a bobby pin or a paper clip.

_This is gonna be harder than I thought…_

* * *

><p><em>Sam<em>

Sam is sitting restlessly in the passenger's seat, tapping her foot repeatedly the whole way to the courthouse. She was too anxious to see how everything would turn out, and even more anxious that Danny might not make it there in time. Not that she didn't trust him, but sometimes things do turn up. She was afraid, scared out of her mind! But she knew she had to be strong. She could already see her father crumbling.

Her eyes turn towards him, seeing his glance focused right on the road. Somehow, some way, she _had _to get her hands on those documents, and she knew her father wouldn't let her willingly. As much as it pained her, she'd have to defy him for once.

She'd have to steal them.

She smiles awkwardly before clearing her throat.

"Are you nervous?" she asks him, buying herself time to think of a plan. Not that it would be efficient; times like this, she'd always just improvised.

"Me? Nervous?" her father answers almost sarcastically. "No. Not really."

"It's okay to be nervous sometimes Dad. You know that, don't you? Like, remember when you found out I was allergic to nuts after I had that reaction from that moose track ice cream? You had to rush me to the hospital and you didn't think I'd make it in time. You were scared. My throat was closing up and you were scared that I was gonna die."

Jeremy's face tighten into a grim look. "Yeah… I remember that. They kept me out of that room and… I thought you weren't going to make it. I had already lost your mother; losing you would've killed me."

Sam gave a gentle nod. "I still carry around my Epipen, just in case."

"Yeah…" Jeremy uttered out before stopping at a red light at a four-way intersection. They were almost there. Sam knew that. They were getting ready to head into downtown.

_Oh, Danny, please be there. __**Please.**_

"Are you alright, darling? You seem a little on edge today."

"It's just…" she sighed. "One screw up, and our lives are gonna be different."

"We'll figure out how to adapt. We always have."

"I know it's just… Dad… this past year has been so life-changing. I just… I don't think I can up and leave it behind. I guess I just want to stick with it. You know, keep as much of it with me as possible." Sam's eyes begin to search left and right as she explains everything to her father, trying to figure out a way to distract him in order to grab the briefcase. She bites her lip slightly.

"Dad, we're gonna have to stop for a second."

"What? What for?"

"I have to use the restroom."

"Samantha, didn't you go before you left the house?"

"No. I didn't think to."

"Can't you wait until we get to the courthouse?"

"No, I really can't."

"Samantha-"

"I need to change my tampon."

Jeremy's eyes increase for a split-second before he exhales awkwardly. "Alright then."

He drives a little ways down before stopping at a gas station just four blocks from the courthouse. After he parks, Sam steps out of the car and shuts the door.

"I'll be back. You should probably fill up while you're here. You're a bit under half a tank."

"I'm sure we can make it four blocks."

"Just fill up now and you won't have to worry about it later."

Without waiting for a response, Sam turned away from the window and started straight into the gas station. Jeremy backed up, parked the car at a pump and began paying before filling it up. Sam stares at him as he opens up the gauge and sticks the spout inside, pressing unleaded and waiting for it to fill up.

_Okay, he's looking the opposite way. This is my chance to get in there and get those papers._

Making sure her father doesn't detect her, Sam sneaks outside and crouches down, opening the door to the back seat slowly. She reaches in and brings the briefcase closer to her. She pulls up the flap and reaches her hand in, digging around and silently praying that the papers are there. When she feels the edge, she lets out a sigh of relief.

_Yes!_

She plucks the papers out, folding them into a small square and stuffing them into her back pocket before making sure the briefcase was closed. Then she quietly closed the door, making sure it latches, and she snuck back to the gas station, just in time to see her father place the spout back into the pump.

_Perfect timing._

She began walking out just as her father shut the door. She got into the car and began fixing her hair, her father staring at her incriminatingly, as if waiting for her to talk.

"Are you…?"

"Uh, yep," she smiled. "Yeah."

Jeremy nodded before turning the key and driving off.

_Yep… I am._

* * *

><p><em>Danny<em>

Teresa peeked around the corner, trying to search the environment. She noticed a custodian mopping the floor, earphones resting in place.

_Oh man. I'm so nervous, I feel like I could sweat off this foundation Sam put on me… huh, that sounded weird._

She looked a little closer and noticed that the keyring was dangling from his right back pocket. She crouched down and started down the hallway.

_Alright. Just go up to him, grab the keys and then get out of there before I get into huge trouble._

She quickened her pace, stopping just short of his legs. He began whistling along with the tune of the music. She brought her hand up, letting it linger in hesitation before hastily snatching the keys from his pocket, her face in a wince. She shut both of her eyes, preparing for an angry older man to turn around and scream at her, demanding repossession of the keys, but when nothing happened she opened one eye and looked up. He was still tending to his own as if nothing ever happened. She sighed, but Danny felt a sense of pain, which caused Teresa to cry out slightly.

_She's fighting me. Oh man… I gotta do this fast. I don't want her throwing me out without doing what I have to do first._

Teresa quickly turned on her heels and made a break for the end of the hall, slowing it to a casual walk after reaching the doorway. She cleared her throat, flattening out her shirt as she started up the stairs, back to the closet she had been to previously. She then poked through each key on the ring, trying to find the one that fits the lock. Key after key failed, and she began to panic.

_Come on, come on! Where's the damn key at?!_

Finally, Teresa pinched the head of a small silver key and stuck it in the lock, turning it and opening the door quietly in case it squeaked. He tiptoed inside and closed the door quietly behind him. Danny turned intangible and left her body, Teresa stumbling while holding her head as she tried to gain her composure. She shook her a little and Danny quickly dipped out before she could turn around and notice him. He locked the door with a cocky smile.

_Alright Sam. Take it away._

* * *

><p><em>Sam<em>

Jeremy pulled the car into one of the parking spaces before the entrance of the courthouse, shutting the engine off and getting out of the car alongside his daughter. Just before they reached the doors, he caught her by the arm and stopped her.

"Hold on a second, Samantha."

Sam's eyes are faint as she looks to ground, then her gaze moves up to his. "Yeah?"

"I just…" he started. "I want you to know that whatever happens in there, I did my best to fight."

"I know Dad."

"And I don't want you to blame me for making a fresh start."

"I won't."

Jeremy's face is rough, uncertain, but he gives her a nod anyway and they continue into the courthouse. After going through security checkpoint, they meet up with his attorney before going upstairs to the room they're supposed to be in. Sam's waits outside as they go in, taking a seat at the stand. She rings her fingers together, the nerves in her brain sparking, her heart beating rapidly.

_I hope this guy's good for what we paid him._

She felt a presence just at her right ear, like the heat of someone's breath grazing it, and her lips turned upward in a grin.

"Teresa's not in there," she whispered.

"I told you it'd be okay," he replied.

She wanted to turn around, wanted to face him and shower him with kisses and exaggerate just how much she loved him. But when she looked throughout the room she saw only a few other people standing around, and she knew she'd look like a nut talking to thin air. So she stood facing forward, facing toward the door, while looking in through the glass, seeing the judge take the stand, her father and his attorney facing him, and Teresa's attorney glancing left and right looking for her client, who is nowhere to be found.

"Where is she?" she asked in monotone.

"She's somewhere safe, don't worry. No one's going to hear her no matter how loud she screams, but she'll live."

Sam smirks, then exhales dramatically. "Well… now what?"

"Now we go in there and crash the party."

"I'll go."  
>"Not alone, you're not."<br>"I'm not alone. I have my dad."

"Your dad isn't a witness to what she's been up to, but I am. You'll need a little support."

"Well you're not welcome to the hearing. They're just gonna kick you out."

"Well you know what? Worse case scenario," Danny paused, peeking all around and making sure no one was looking as he changed back to his human half, "that's exactly what they do."

Sam turns abruptly, seeing baby blue eyes at first glance, and she felt her heart thump in her chest. Danny gave her a lopsided smile. "Let's head in, yeah?"

She nodded, pushing the door open with him at her heels.

The judge's eyes watch both teenagers head up the aisle, past the benches and up the stand.

"Your honor," Sam starts, "I have proof that Teresa's claims are nothing but frauds."

"Judge Elisa hasn't started yet," Teresa's attorney nipped at Sam with a tense voice, her lips pursed in disappointment. "My client has not returned."

"So she was here?" Elisa asked.

"Of course she was! She has yet to return, and I can't imagine why."

"Did she say where she was going?" Jeremy asked.

"She said she was going to the bathroom, but she hasn't come back."

"Your honor, please," Sam pleaded, digging through her back pocket and pulling out the folded up documents, reaching out to hand it to the judge.

"You have to see this," Danny jumped in.

Elisa takes it into her hands, then unfolded the paper and scanned over them, moving on behind another.

"Teresa claimed that the signature on the prenuptial agreement had been forged. She said she didn't sign it… but she did sign the marriage certificate, or else they wouldn't have been united, right?" Elisa looks up waiting for her to continue. Sam gives a nod. "Compare the signatures."

"Samantha…" Jeremy's voice trailed off, and Sam didn't have to look at him to see the disappointment on his face.

"I know I wasn't allowed to Dad, but I did. I had to. I told you: she's not going to win."

Elisa raises her eyebrows as she averts her eyes from the certificate to the pre-nup and back to the certificate. As she sets them upon the stand, she laces her fingers together and, without a hint of hesitation, states, "the signatures match."

"Your honor…" Teresa's attorney rises in protest.

"Save it Rachel," she stopped her. "I suppose you were going to lie to try to win a case, correct?"

"But… Elisa," she dropped her voice, trying to mumble through her lips, "we talked about this."

"No… Teresa told me that _he _forged her signature, so I agreed to expose him for it. But I said that if she was lying, I wasn't going to give her what she didn't deserve. How could you two try to fool me?"

The attorney, whose name was said to be Rachel, follows her eyes to the surface of her desk, sitting down slowly in guilt. Jeremy and his attorney turn towards each other and then back towards the action. Elisa is smiling gently at Sam. "What's your name sweetheart?"

"Samantha. But everyone just calls me Sam."

"How old are you?"

"I'm almost 16."

Elisa's face twists up in shock. "15, huh?"

Sam nodded.

"You're a smart girl."

"It… was actually him," she aimed a hitchhiking thumb at Danny. "He thought of the plan first."

The judge shot her glance at the blue-eyed boy before her, and he grinned cheekily. "And you are?"

"Daniel Fenton. I'm 15 too."

Elisa let out an airy laugh, and she beamed so intensely that her dimples were showing. "What made you fight so hard?"

"It was him," she answered, gazing at Danny lovingly. "This is my boyfriend… and I love him so much, I couldn't leave him. He's one of the closet that I've ever been to anyone, and I can't leave him. I belong here. This is my home."

Elisa took a deep breath, and just as she was about to say something, the door the room busted open and in marched Teresa. Everyone turned suddenly, and as Sam shot a "what happened?" look at him, Danny rolled his eyes. _You've got to be kidding me._

Teresa was panting, her hair frazzled, her teeth bit into a grit and beads of sweat resting in colonies on her forehead.

"Elisa… this is not… what I had planned to happen," she spoke in between breaths. "I was magically locked in a closet and I couldn't get out. It was the most awful thing…"

"You're trash, Teresa," Elisa insulted blatantly. "You're absolute trash."

Teresa scoffed. "Excuse me?"

"You're a fraud," the judge slapped the papers down on the stand. They caught Teresa's eye, and she began shaking her head rapidly.

"No… I swear that I'm not making it up."

"So these papers are lying?"

"I…" she stops when she sees Sam and Danny standing side-by-side, and her face darkens into a crimson red. _"You,"_ she hissed at Sam. She wanted to cower behind Danny, but she knew that in order to stand up to her, she had to show her she wasn't scared of her.

"It's over Teresa. You're done. I told you I wouldn't let you win."

"You've ruined _everything!_ This is all _your_ fault!"

"I'm just defending what's rightfully mine, and you just wanted my dad for the money. That's how it's always been… and I'm done. I'm done letting you scare me and letting you take over my life."

"I was supposed to get it all, and _you_ would be taken out of the bunch! You'd be all the way in Canada had it not been for you snooping around in business that isn't yours!"

"I'm glad that I did! You're a coward, Teresa, and you need to be set in your place."

Sam swore she could see Teresa's eyes go black before she went running towards her, arms out as if to choke her. Danny gripped Sam by her arm and pulled her back behind him and Jeremy rushed to restrain her. Teresa began kicking and punching at him, yelling for him to let her go. Rachel was quick on her feet to pull at Jeremy's arm, and Elisa banged the gavel repeatedly before everything came to a stop. Jeremy paused with his hands wrapped firmly around Teresa's waist, both out of breath from the initial shock. She smacked at his hand with a quick mumble of "let me go". Sam was still standing behind Danny, but his grip loosened when he felt more confident that Teresa was no longer going to strangle the life out of her.

"What a childish way to behave in a courtroom, don't you think?" Elisa asked ironically.

"Is this the only evidence that you're going to view, your honor? This is hardly enough!" Rachel defended.

"Well considering the fact that Teresa burned whatever was left of the other pieces of evidence and these are the only surviving copies if you don't count the ones on record. So yes, this is all the evidence that I need." Elisa turned to Teresa. "Should've been smarter."

"You can't let this happen Elisa. We had a deal!"

"Yeah… we did, didn't we?" the judge hinted, and Teresa drew back in incredulousness. With a curt smile, Elisa looked her straight in the eyes and said, "but now the deal's off."

Elisa grasped the gavel, hovering it just over the stand. Teresa shakes her head.

"Don't do this, don't do this," she chants.

"I hereby declare that Teresa Lynn's claims are false based on concrete evidence. The prenuptial agreement was signed by her and therefore Jeremy Manson gets to withhold possession of all of his personal items: every dime, every piece of furniture and the house itself. The Manson's do not have to leave their residence or part with anything in it. Case closed."

And then Sam and Danny had heard what they were yearning to hear: the banging of that gavel.

She let out a sigh of relief, closing her eyes and bringing Danny in a hug, her tears falling onto his shoulder. He let out a chuckle, rubbing her back gently. Teresa begins yelling, and an officer is called in to escort her off of the premises. Jeremy stands to his feet, giving Sam a look. Her eyes look up from Danny's shoulder, letting go of him, which caused Danny to face him as well.

"Samantha," her father started, his blond hair falling in front of his eyes, "I'm very disappointed in you. You tampered with legal documents that you were not allowed to touch, you've sabotaged the hearing and you guys were mean enough to lock her in the closet. I've never been so disappointed."

Sam and Danny glance at each other. Then there eyes fall to the floor guiltily.

Jeremy holds his daughter by the shoulders, causing her to return her gaze.

"But I've never been so happy in my entire life… at both of you. Breaking the law or not, you did the right thing. You're both smarter than anyone gives you credit for. I am so proud of you two."

They smiled. Sam opens her arm, awaiting for Jeremy's embrace, which he accepts without further question.

_Yeah…_ Sam thought. _I'm proud of us too._

* * *

><p>Jeremy stops just at the end of the steps, Danny and Sam holding hands behind him.<p>

"I'm gonna go start the car. I'm ready to get out of here."

He starts off, Sam and Danny turning to each other. They glance lovingly at each other, Danny breathing out of his nose.

"Well… that all went as planned."

"Er… a little," she smiled.

The air around them immediately began to thicken with awkwardness. They had been so caught up in conspiring against Teresa that they had failed to recognize the problems in front of them, such as Danny's curse and Sam's pregnancy, which was yet to be mentioned to her father. They still had many problems to face. It was the last week of school. Sam had to prepare herself for proper dieting and exercise and focusing just on her for the whole summer, making sure that she was being a decent mother. Upon realizing this, their moment of clarity was interrupted.

"Listen… Danny… it's not too late," she mumbled. "You can still back out."

At first, Danny didn't know what she was talking about, but he caught on faster than ever.

"No."

"Danny…" she whispered, her eyes tearing up, her fingers coming down to lace his. "I know that I'm not moving now. I know that I'm not going anywhere. But if you really want to, you can break it off right here, right now. Just say goodbye. You can turn around and walk away, and I promise you I won't be mad. But if you don't want to do this…"

"Sam, stop talking like that. I'm serious. We're doing this together. I'm not going anywhere."

"Danny…"

"What kind of person do you think I am, Sam? My dad always said that a boy runs from his problems, but a man faces them, and that's what I'm gonna do. I can't just turn around and walk away. This is my crusade too." He kissed her briefly on her lips. "Okay?"

Sam nodded briskly.

"Okay," she repeated. **(No TFIOS pun intended.)**

"I love you, Sam. I love you more than anything in the entire world. I'm glad that everything turned out the way that it did… because if it didn't, I wouldn't have met you… and you are the best thing that's ever happened to me, and a few months from now," he placed one his hands on her stomach, "someone else will be too."

Danny thought that this would make Sam's heart swell up, causing her to kiss him over and over again. But instead, she did the direct opposite: she began crying hysterically.

"Sam, what is it?"

Sam tried to talk through her sobs, but failed miserably, and finally just buried her face into her shoulder. "I love you Danny. I just… I love you so much."

Danny didn't have time to respond before he saw a hint of light glisten from his forearm. The tree was illuminating indignantly, and from a third of his vision, he saw the flowers start to fall from the tree. Then his arm, along with his face, started to burn a searing burn, as if his skin had caught on fire. He let go of Sam's frail body, holding her at arms length from him. A worried look crossed her face as he let go of one hand to hold his cheek. He began crying out in pain.

"Danny, what is it?"

"It's… there's something…" as the pain intensified, so did his tone of voice. He was nearly screaming now, his knees caving in to fall to the ground. He began nailing at the flesh of his forearm, watching as the tree darkened and started to disappear. His face felt as if acid had fallen upon it.

"Danny!" Sam cried out, but Danny shoved one hand forward.

"No! Sam… stay… back!"

_This is it,_ Danny thought. _I'm too late. I'm gonna be stuck like this forever._

Zonda had warned him, made it clear that he only had a year. He had lost track of time, but he knew that due time was coming. And it was coming now. After the months that he and Sam had together, the times they had shared and the things they had done, it was now that Sam had finally spoken up.

But she was a moment too late.

It was over for him.

His vision grew blurry and as he felt the last harsh sensation, he fell against the concrete, everything going black.

"_Danny!"_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: DON'T KILL ME! : D**

**I promise you everything will be okay. This story is going to round up to a cheesy, cliche happy ending. **

**Question of the Chapter!**

_If you could own any pet, what would you own and what kind of species would it be? Or, if you have a dog/cat/fish/etc., what breed/type is it?_

**I have a boxer dog and his name's Brutis and he's so freaking cute.**

**PleaseR&R,**

**Shayla**


	15. Good Things Come to Good People

**A/N: Last chapter before the epilogue, so let's make this good people!**

***Disclaimer blah blah***

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><p><strong>Chapter 15: Good Things Come to Good People<strong>

_Sam_

Beep.

"_Come on Danny, come on!"_

Beep.

"_Breathe… come on, please!"_

Beep.

"_Dad… oh Dad, what have I done?!"_

"_You haven't done anything sweetheart. Just step back and let the paramedics do their job."_

Beep.

"_I knew I shouldn't have said it… Zonda was wrong… the curse is still here…"_

Beep.

"_I knew this would happen. I'm sorry… Danny, I'm so sorry!"_

Beep.

"_Danny… don't leave me. Please don't leave me… not like they did… please..."_

Sam always hated hospitals. She had spent half of her life in one, awaiting the response from the doctor on whether or not her mother would survive. And about her grandmother, whether the cancer had gone away or not. Both times, she had lost someone dear to her. She was scared out of her mind and her soul that the same thing would happen again.

She didn't know what went wrong. Danny was fine, and then in an instant, he was in pain, and eventually he collapsed. She had racked her brain over and over again for the answer, but there wasn't one. It could've been multiple things, but nothing at all at the same time. It could've been dehydration, but that normally doesn't spontaneously hurt someone before they pass out. The only other way would be if he had bled out, but there were no cuts on his body! The more Sam thought about it, the more intense the pain in her head was.

As she stood, pacing two and fro in the hall, Jeremy was sitting in the waiting area along with Maddie and Jack. Jazz had called not too long before, begging her mom to let her skip out on the meeting with the dean of the college she was planning to attend just to let her see him, but Maddie told her to stay and that she would inform her with whatever she finds out as soon as possible. With much hesitation-and a lot of convincing-Jazz finally agreed that she'd stay put and ended the conversation.

But the air in the area was dense. Maddie was near tears and Jack had resorted to cradling her as comfort. Jeremy had an arm over Sam's shoulders, trying to cheer her up in the best way that he could. Over and over, she would repeat "it's all my fault" while rocking back and forth.

"No it's not," Jeremy would coo. "There was nothing that you could've done."

"Does anyone know what happened?" Maddie cried. "Anything at all?"

"He just… collapsed," Jeremy shrugged as Sam buried her head into his chest.

"Was he dehydrated?" Jack asked.

"Sam," Jeremy turned to the Gothic teen.

"I don't know," her muffled voice answered.

"Now, now Maddie," Jack assured his wife with a slight strain in his voice that he tried with much effort to hide, but failed. "I'm sure everything is fine."

"Where's the doctor already?!" Sam snapped. "It's been too long!"

Almost as if it were right on cue, a man dressed in a medical jacket with brown hair and hazel eyes circle the corner and stopped right at the entrance of the waiting room.

"Fenton?"

Literally the entire waiting had risen to their feet (all who was Sam, Jeremy, Maddie, and Jack), and the poor old woman who was sitting in the midst of it all had wide eyes. But she merely shook her head and looked down at the newspaper once more, her cane resting comfortably against her breastbone.

"How is he?" Maddie asked with concern, her eyes wide. "Is he okay?"

"He's more than okay," the doctor smiled. "What took us so long was getting his heart back up to speed. We wanted to make sure he was stable enough so that his blood pressure didn't drop. But he's awake, if anyone wants to see him. We have to limit to two people only, unfortunately."

Maddie and Jack cast their gaze at Sam, who shakes her head faintly.

"No. No I couldn't… you guys are his parents, and I have no right infringing upon that."

"Sam, you've been with him every second up until now, and you've been waiting so patiently to see him," Maddie sympathized.

"We think you should go in first, even if you only stay for a couple of minutes," Jack reassured.

Sam looked at her dad, who aligned his jaw and nodded, and she let go, whispering a simple "ok" before following the doctor to Danny's room. Once she was guided to it, she was gestured to enter before the doctor walked off. She stepped and shut the door silently, careful not to disturb the patients in any nearby rooms. Then she took a deep breath, walked up to his bed and gasped as her eyes landed on him.

* * *

><p><em>Danny<em>

He didn't know what happened in all honesty. All he could remember was the ensuing pain erupting through his arm, like it had been lit on fire, mixed with the feeling of a bruise, big enough to engulf it completely. Then he fell to the concrete, everything going black. He passed out completely.

He could hear his angel's voice clearly, and wanted so badly to respond, but knew that even a groan from his throat was hard to muster up. Her voice was practically begging, and he tried so hard to at least reach his hand up and touch her face. He was completely paralyzed, and in the depths of the blackness that was surrounding him, he had seen a figure off in the distance, but it wasn't of the one he loved. Zonda had been awaiting his presence, and with it, she greeted with a smile.

"Congratulations… as awkward as it is for me to say so."

"What's going on?" Danny panicked, his voice echoing throughout the void. "You promised me a year… it hasn't been there yet-"

"Relax ghost boy. Yes… I did promise you a year, and a year it hasn't been. But you've broken the curse, and for that you are rewarded with your old self."

"I… did?"

"She admitted, finally, that she loves you. And that's all it took. So, yes. You did."

"Wow…" he grinned sheepishly. "Wow… she actually did it… way to go, Sam!"

"Butttttttttt, you're gonna hate me after I tell you this."

The grin, which was what was plastered upon his face, was replaced with a frown. "What do you mean?"

"You could've broken it all along. You always had the power."  
>"I… what?" And with only a couple seconds of letting it sink in, his eyes began to highlight with a dark neon green. <em>"What?"<em>

"Calm down. I said that someone _else_ had to accept you and admit that they love you no matter what. When I put the curse on you, I literally gave you a whole new self. If your _old self_ would have accepted who you were and looked past the curse, it would've been broken. But instead, you complained about how ugly you were from day one."

Danny's eyes faded into a calm blue again.

"Don't be mad at me because you didn't figure out a loophole. Every spell has one. Either way," Zonda sighed, "you got the girl, so there's no hard feelings. Now, go greet her."

With that, Zonda disappeared, and just as quickly as she did, Danny awoke with a start to nurses and a doctor using a defibrillator to shock him back. The nurses gently held his arms down, the doctor yelling out that they finally had a pulse before replacing the machine with an EKG machine.

"Wheel him into a different room everyone, but keep a close eye on him in case he stops breathing again."

Danny's panting began to die down as his eyes gazed up to the lights and relaxed his mind. He didn't realize that in the process they were moving him, and before he knew it, he was in a room of his own. The doctor stopped by, asked him a couple of questions about how he was feeling before leaving the room. No more than a few minutes later, he heard his door open and then close quietly, seeing his girlfriend come into view. When she finally looked at him, she took a step back, gasping in what he thought had been shock.

* * *

><p><em>Sam<em>

"Danny, your… your face! It's…"

"What?" he pushed himself into an upward position. "What's wrong with it? Did Zonda lie?!"

"No, it's… it's normal again. Your face is clear! You're you again!"

"Really?" he asked, his hands coming up to feel it. He let out a breath of relief as he felt nothing but skin. He looked down at his arm to see that the tree was no longer there.

_It worked… it worked! I'm me again! Yes!_

"You broke the curse, Sam! You did it!"

Sam ran up to him for a kiss, planting it straight onto his forehead. She practically cried at the sound of his heart beating in his chest and the warmth of his blood flowing through his veins.

"I'm so glad you're alive," she whispered. "I thought I lost you. I really thought I'd never see you again."

"It's going to take more than an old curse to keep me from my Sammy… and our child. Speaking of," his tone grew serious, "have you told them?"

With the dismay that began to gloss over her entire face, he had taken the answer as a simple no.

"It's okay Sam. A lot's been going on lately. Now that you know I'm okay, we'll tell them together."

Sam gave the blue-eyed boy a hug and kiss, before grabbing his hand firmly, squeezing it with a hint of assurance. They knew that things could only get better from there on out. It was going to be a challenge every mile that they walked, but each obstacle, they knew, would only make them stronger. She was happy knowing that one of the only people she still cared for didn't die. What she had done freed her. Her desire for love and her will to go on to something greater. When she had found her lifelong passion, it redeemed her. And Danny knew, just as well as she did, that he had earned credit where it was deserved as well. For the most part, they had the opportunity to start all over again.

And they took it straight-on, without a single ounce of defiance.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So this chapter was a bit short, but that's because I'm writing an epilogue and it's probably going up tonight. I'm finishing up this story. We're doing this possibly without a single doubt. **

**PleaseR&R,**

**Vivalandra**


	16. Epilogue: Promise?

**A/N: (throws on shades) Let's finish this.**

***Disclaimer blah blah***

* * *

><p><strong>Epilogue: Promise?<strong>

"_Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months. And by that time, three years had already gone by. Danny and I are graduating, leaving behind our memories, our teenage dreams, our frustrations… and sooner or later we made a mark to where we wanted to go next and took off._

_My father knew of what was going on, as was Danny's parents… and they understood. I thought they would be pretty heated, but I was wrong. They were understanding, supportive, even. I didn't know what was wrong with them personally; normal parents would yell at you and scream their heads off. It was scary seeing them so nonchalant about it; even scarier seeing them so excited. They scrambled to put everything together, since I had been a couple of months by them time I spilled. They hosted a baby shower for me, my cousins and aunts and uncles came into town to congratulate me… I had all the attention while Danny smiled sheepishly. I couldn't decide whether to feel sorry for him or to give him the attention he was getting, but he merely whispered, "this is all for you, not me. Don't let me bother you. Enjoy it."_

_We were all waiting._

_We were all jumping for joy._

_We were all yearning for the due date..._

"_...but I still wake up every night at 2AM with the same god damn nightmare racing through my head. Danny cradles me, hushes me and tells me everything is fine… but it's still so vivid. Everything about this nightmare… it's not just that. It's a suppressed memory, something that I've tried to keep hidden deep within my mind, but as far from my subconscious as possible. Still, it fights its way down. _

_God, do I remember it. I was screaming, ensuing pain just lighting my entire lower region on fire. Nurses would wheel in EKG machines and fluids and everything that was needed for an OB-GYN to deliver a newborn. Then there was the dilation process, and that was Hell. It took a while, but Danny had finally came into the delivery room, and I cried so hard I thought my eyes would slide out of their sockets. He was holding my right hand, his left arm draped over my shoulders, muttering words of optimism into my ear. _

_And I believed him._

_Why wouldn't I?_

_Then came time to push and, long after the epidural had set in, I did what I had to do. Everything from the waist down was completely numb, but I still felt the sensations. There were a mix of cries, grunts of effort and heavy breathing coming from my mouth, mustered up from my lungs. There was no in between. Everything was pretty much happening at once. While delivering your child, the only thing going through your head is exactly how long can it take before a baby is finally out of the womb. I guess for me, I had expected the average, but got the opposite._

"_I saw one of the nurses grab a cloth, which was completely covered in blood, and moved it from the end of the bed to a little metal tray table off to my left. I no longer felt anything, but I didn't hear anything either. Was I done? Was I finally finished? If that's the case, what's going on?_

_That's when my eyes caught the doctors, and to this day I wish they hadn't. I wish I could've just fallen back and passed out like every other mother does. Instead, my blood ran cold. Regardless of what I had learned in child development, this was just pure common sense: the first thing a baby does after leaving the room is cry. It cries and it cries and it cries… but that's only to let you know that they're breathing. They're alive and well. They're scared, mind you, but they're alive and well._

_I knew why I didn't feel anything._

_I knew why I didn't hear anything._

_And after Danny caught onto the situation as well, he knew too, and all the color left his complexion._

"_The doctor tried to hand the baby off to one of the nurses as fast as he could've without allowing me to see what was going on, but he wasn't fast enough, for my eyes traveled to my child, lying still as a stone in the hands of the man. He wasn't moving. He wasn't even breathing. And his umbilical cord was wrapped snugly around his neck so tight that the skin near his esophagus contained a hint of purple. Upon the sight, I completely lost it… hit the wall hard. _

"_No… no… no," I began to chant, each word growing in intensity. And as the nurse wrapped the baby up in a white blanket and quickly carried it out of the room, the doctor looked at me with sympathetic eyes._

"_I'm so sorry, Samantha."_

"_Don't say that," I shook my head, my voice strangling a sob. "Don't you dare say that, you son of a bitch!"_

_I was practically screaming now, and if I didn't pipe down soon, I'd alert the entire floor. Danny was shushing me (how on earth was he so calm over this?), and I thought I'd bust a nerve. Finally, within a minute, the nurse came back in, mentioned something about "valid authorization" and the next thing I knew, the doctor was inserting a needle into my neck, injecting a sedative, and I felt my heart-rate go from 200 to 150. And then my vision went blurry, and then everything went black._

_That's when I wake up, each and every time. I felt like time had stopped and I was stuck in a warp, with no way to get out. I cried every night for time that came after it, and seeing how upset I was, Danny had shed many tears as well. I had became distant to those around me. To my family, who had tried so hard to comfort me, and to Danny, who had tried to be my outlet. I refused to be touched, to be kissed, to be hugged, or to be talked to, and I became a slave to my misery. I gave it the one thing that it loves: company. _

"_Until I turned 21, I hadn't done much except go to school and finish what I had to to get a good job. By then, Danny and I were on a new chapter, and we tried to become stronger from had happened to us. We told ourselves that everything happens for a reason, and I believe that wholeheartedly. Maybe we weren't destined to be parents so young, and we both knew that. Maybe I wouldn't have been able to provide for my first child. After all, I was a child myself. I was scared, terrified even, and so was Danny. But as we grew older, at around age 23, we were ready. And we tried again._

_Like I said, I believe everything happens for a reason._

_Some don't think so, but they do._

_Fate and destiny is just a matter of coercion. As mere humans, we aren't perfect. We're scared to tackle things on our own. Therefore, these things are done for us, and we're expected to go along with it._

_Funny… I intended for this to be a journal entry, but instead this turned into a philosophy."_

Sam signed the bottom of the page and closed the journal, tucking it into the drawer of her nightstand and pushing closed gently, inhaling and exhaling smoothly.

"_I'm sorry, but I've gotta see that baby!" Zonda waved her hand downward, doing a little dance._

"_Here she is," Sam smiled. And as Zonda peered over the railing of the crib, she gasped in astonishment._

"_Oh… she's beautiful, absolutely beautiful. She's got Danny's eyes."_

"_I know," Sam chuckled. "She got almost everything from him. Hopefully she didn't get his stubbornness too."_

"_Hey baby! Hello! Hi!_

_The baby chuckled, her eyes squinting as her smile grew, dimples bigger than the moon. She giggled and gurgled, the tip of her little nose flaring._

"_What's her name?"_

"_Ebony."_

"_Ebony… what a gorgeous name for a gorgeous baby!"_

She turned her head, peeking at Danny, who was sprawled out beneath the bedsheets, snoring lightly, which only made him all the more cuter. A picture of the two of them rested vertically upon his nightstand and she looked at it in bewilderment.

"_I want to give you something," Zonda offered. "It's nothing bad, but I feel like it should belong to her."_

_Sam nodded and Zonda turned to Ebony, waving to hands over her, mumbling something that was ineligible to Sam, and then snapped her fingers, causing Ebony to let off a silver glow. _

"_What… what did you do to her?"_

"_Now, she'll have good luck come her way for as long as she lives," Zonda smiled._

"_Oh, that won't be necessary. She'll be spoiled enough, don't you think?"_

"_Maybe. But good things should come to good people, and I believe that she'll be one, especially being raised by the two of you."_

She was wondering when he'd wake up. It was already light outside, and they had quite the day ahead of them.

"_But Zonda, I-"_

"_Please…" Zonda backed away from the crib and into the corner of the room. "Keep the gift. She'll need it."_

"_Wait… what do you mean?"_

_Before she gave her an answer, she disappeared in a cloud of black smoke, never to be seen again, leaving Sam in pure confusion._

Sam was snapped out of her trance with two little bodies jumping onto the bed. The little giggles were warm-hearting, and it blew Sam away knowing how blessed she was that everything had unfolded the way that it had.

"Mommy, Mommy, can we go now?!" Ebony cried.

"If you can manage to wake up you father first," Sam laughed. "Elle, will you do the honors?"

Elle smiled and jumped off the bed, rounding the way to Danny's side and using a pillow that had fallen to the floor as her weapon of destruction. She bashed it against his face, but he didn't even flinch.

"Daddy, wake-" another hit "up!"

He lunged upward, letting out a roar, which made Elle and Ebony jump back in fright. He laughed when he saw their reactions and both girls began attacking him. Sam laughed, calming everyone down.

"Girls, go get ready. We have a lot to do."

The two girls nod, saying "yes Mommy" before running off to their bedrooms. They both laugh, lacing their fingers together and sitting there for a second before going getting up and getting ready. As Sam was pulling a shirt on over her head, Danny behind her rummaging through a drawer, her cellphone went off and she knew by the tone what it meant. She rolled her eyes.

"Danny, can you please get me my meds from the cabinet in the bathroom?"

"Yeah, sure."

She heard footsteps trail off behind her and she exhaled deeply, pulling a pair of jeans on and securing them before the bottle and a glass of water came into view. "Thank you," she mumbled as she opened the cap and plucked a bottle from the inside, dropped it into her mouth, tightened the cap onto the bottle once more, taking a sip of water and swallowing it down. She felt Danny's hands wrap around her waist.

"I hate that damn medicine," she groaned.

"I know. But if you feel like it helps, you have to take it."

"Yeah," she sighed, grasping his hands. "One of these days… I'm gonna get through 24 hours without the help of a drug. And when I do, I'm rewarding myself."

He smirked. "Go ahead. You deserve one anyway for holding out as long as you did."

He kissed her cheek and nibbled at her ear a little bit before backing away and tending to his own business. She craned her neck upward, grabbing a gold necklace with a heart charm on its chain and clasping it around her neck.

"_I want you to always remember Sam," Pamela said, her tone calm and serious, "that whatever battle that we face in life, there's always a winner and a loser. If you win, don't think it's a bad thing. Look at it as a way to see life from a whole new perspective. Look at it as a way to be stronger. Count all of the blessings in your life rather than the curses. Only then will it set you free. Promise?"_

_Young Samantha nodded slowly, focusing on her words as if they were her only light through the darkness._

Sam reached up and touched the charm, her eyes welling up with tears only a little bit.

"I promise Mom," she whispered.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Ladies and gentlemen, it's been an honor writing this story for you.**

**PleaseR&R,**

**Vivalandra :' )**


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